The Organized Hypocrisy of African Language Policies: Evidence from Senegal

• In Event: Constitutions and Administration in Democratic Theory

Abstract

A state’s constitution lays out a foundation for the country. What does it mean, then, if a state obviously does not pursue its constitutional promises? I focus on a facially benign case of non-pursuit, that of constitutional statements on language policy in sub-Saharan African states. With Senegal as the example case, I show that states in this region commonly engage in organized hypocrisy (Krasner 1999, Brunsson 1989) in regard to their language policies. Building from courtroom observations and over sixty qualitative interviews carried out in Senegal, I describe a setting wherein all realize that the law says one thing, while reality in large part says another, yet substantial change does not occur. In line with Shklar’s (1979) defense of political hypocrisy, I present policies of this sort as contributing to stability in linguistically diverse developing states. Oppositely to Shklar, however, I identify pernicious aspects of state hypocrisy in this sphere, in delaying positive change. In presenting this case, I illustrate the benefits, as well as the challenges and demands, of contemporary theorists turning their lens to regions long outside their ken.

Author

• Camille DeJarnett