The Promotion of Democratic Consolidation by the European Union in Zambia within the Framework of The Cotonou Agreement (2000- 2021)

Abstract

The achievement of democratic consolidation in any country is essential, because it is the only way to prevent the reverse and/or retreat of democracy. It assures sustainable development and ultimately reduces poverty. While the study adopts Linz and Stepan's normative framework that explains how democracy becomes 'the only game in town' through consolidation, suffice to say that the basic principles and parameters under which democratic consolidation can hold, remain unsettled discourse. In addition, the current view is that international agencies play a big role indemocratic consolidation, and they have done so through signing various agreements. One important agreement of which Zambia is part is the Cotonou Agreement, between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. It came into force in 2000 and envisioned democracy promotion initiatives, by addressing corruption, poverty and inadequate development, and policy reforms. Nevertheless, there is a lack of agreement on a country specific approach for promoting these democracy initiatives in countrieslike Zambia, hence they face some hindrances. Therefore, the study's main objective was to identify a more specific approach situated within Linz and Stepan's framework, that could fully address the remaining hindrances to the EU democracy promotion initiatives in Zambia, in order to improve the chances of democratic consolidation. Again, to do this, the study relied on Linz and Stepan's theory of democratic consolidation, which takes into account a variety of primarily internal factors that affect democratic consolidation. The study was based on qualitative single case study that uses document analysis as its method of data collection and thematic content analysis as its method of data analysis. The findings revealed that Zambia amidst the EU democracy promotion initiatives, remains under-developed, corrupt, poor, and according to the Freedom House Index, a partly free country with the overall score of 54/100. This is because according to the study findings, the EU initiatives, under the Cotonou Guidelines, were developed outside the country's own political reality, which overlooked the complex hindrances such as corruption, poverty, inequality, and governance inefficiencies. The study recommends that the EU must balance principled technocratic solutions with practical participatory ownership going forward, understanding that promoting democracy cannot be achieved solely through technocratic prescription of the Cotonou Guidelines, whose content this study argues are externally determined. Rather, it necessitates constituting Linz and Stepan's 'the only game in town', involving sincere alliances with Zambian local players, and adjusting to Zambian political context as a strong alternative approach for consolidating democracy.