Sahraaltı Afrika’da Demokratik Gerileme: Vaka İncelemesi Olarak Burkina Faso

Year 2024, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 185 - 224, 30.12.2024

Mehmet Berkay Durdu

Abstract

Demokratik gerileme kavramı, 2010’lu yıllardan itibaren, siyaset bilimi ve demokrasi çalışmaları alanında disiplininde giderek daha da tartışmalı bir konu haline gelmiştir. Demokratik gerilemeyle birlikte vatandaşların siyasi haklarını kullanabilme kapasiteleri zayıflamakta buna mukabil hükümetlerin keyfi uygulamaları artarak otoriter rejimlerin tesis edilmesine imkan tanımaktadır. Bu çalışma, 1990’lı yılların başından itibaren geniş çaplı demokratik, hukuki ve ekonomik reformlara sahne olan, uluslararası arenada ağırlığını giderek artıran ve XXI. Yüzyılın “Afrika Yüzyılı” olarak adlandırılmasını sağlayan Sahraaltı Afrika’ya ve bölgenin demokrasi serüveni için müstesna bir yer tuttuğu düşünülen Burkina Faso’ya odaklanmaktadır. Çalışmanın temel amacı, Burkina Faso’da ve Sahraaltı Afrika’da hızla artan demokratik gerileme olgusunun sebeplerini araştırmaktır. Bu çerçevede, çalışma boyunca mixed bir metot izlenmiştir. Niceliksel yöntem olarak, demokrasi, ekonomi ve yönetişim endekslerinden oluşan çeşitli korelasyonlar ile siyasi katılım, siyasi haklar ve seçimlere ilişkin farklı dönemlerde yapılmış olan anket çalışmalarından faydalanılmıştır. Niteliksel yöntem olarak Burkina Faso’nun demokrasi serüveni, tarihsel süreç içerisinde ele alınarak devlet mekanizmasının ve kamuoyunun genel yaklaşımına dair bir sonuç ortaya konmuş, devlet, ordu ve kamuoyuyla demokrasi arasındaki ilişki, ampirik incelemelerden çıkan sonuçlar çerçevesinde ele alınarak demokratik gerilemenin nedenlerine ilişkin analitik bir çözümleme yapılmıştır. Sonuç olarak, Sahraaltı Afrika’daki demokratik gerilemenin bir takım içsel ve dışsal dinamiklere bağlı olarak geliştiği, bölgedeki eğitim seviyesi yükseltilmeden, bölgesel güvenliği sağlamak adına ulusal ve uluslararası aktörler kararlı bir biçimde mobilize edilmeden ve gelir adaletsizliği sürdürülebilir bir eşiğe taşınmadan bölgedeki trendin tersine dönmesi mümkün olmadığı düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

Demokratik Gerileme, Sahraaltı Afrika, Batı Afrika, Sahel, Burkina Faso

Democratic Backsliding in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burkina Faso as a Case Study

Abstract

The democratic backsliding has become a controversial topic in the political science since the 2010s. This study focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, which has witnessed large-scale democratic, legal and economic reforms since the early 1990s and Burkina Faso, which is considered to hold an exceptional place in Africa’s democracy history. The main objective of the study is to analyze the democratic backsliding’s causes in the region. This study designed based on quantitative and qualitative data. For quantitative methodology, various correlations consisting of democracy, economy and governance indices and surveys regarding political participation, and elections were utilized. As a qualitative method, Burkina Faso’s democratic adventure was analyzed, and a conclusion was drawn on the general approach of the state and people. Based on the findings of empirical studies on the relationship between the state, military, public and democracy, an analytical assessment of the causes of democratic backsliding was made. Consequently, the democratic backsliding in sub-Saharan Africa developed due to a number of internal and external dynamics, and the trend in the region cannot be reversed unless the education level is raised, national and international actors are decisively mobilized to ensure regional security, and income inequality is brought to a sustainable threshold.

Keywords

Democratic Backsliding, Sub-Saharan Africa, West Africa, Sahel, Burkina Faso.

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