Political and economic Instability in modern day Burkina Faso (Research Paper Sample)

Political and economic Instability in modern day Burkina Faso
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Introduction
Both historically and contemporarily, the political characteristics of the West African region have exhibited a uniqueness that is unlike any other African region. Before the prevalence of armed resistance, both against colonial masters and domestic governments, the region was a hub of enlightened opposition and trailblazing policy making when compared to the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. The region produced the first independent country in sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana in 1957. It also provided the region with the first military coup, when the Togolese army toppled and subsequently murdered the country’s prime minister in 1963. Subsequent coups resulted in a region that became Africa’s hub of coups, ending up in a region that is prone to political instability, which in turn affects the region’s economic stability. Civil wars have become the go-to method of resolving political issues in the region, a possible explanation for the rampant underdevelopment that the region has witnessed. The region’s political instability has resulted in 14 of the region’s 16 independent countries appearing in the global list of Highly Indebted Poor Countries.
Burkina Faso’s development and economic performance largely depends on occurrences both inside and outside its borders, making the relative political stability of the region as a whole important to the country’s economy. Recent economy has become increasingly reliant on agriculture, with cotton as the main cash crop, and foreign funding tops up the remaining budgetary deficit. Despite these challenges, the political climate of Burkina Faso has remained relatively stable when compared to other countries in the region. The country survived social unrest in the early months of 2011, and adopted a number of reforms that gave a measure of credibility to the electoral process in the country. However, as revealed by the low voter rates and fragmentation of the opposition in the build-up to the 2012 elections, more needs to be done if the country’s political situation is to be stabilized.
Economic Factors
Economic factors always play an important part in the determining the political destiny of a particular country. This phenomenon is most prominent in Africa, where most nations are still struggling to understand and implement the concept of democracy. Upon expulsion of colonial agents, most African leaders suddenly found themselves as custodians of vast wealth, most of which was transformed into personal property at the expense of the state. The years preceding 1995 were bleak for the country's economy. A total of eight coups occurred in the period between 1966 and 1991, resulting in lack of political stability, limiting economic growth in the country. However, from 1995, the political landscape attained relative stability, and measures were instituted to create business confidence. The chamber of commerce was reorganized, and business laws updated as per the requirements of the African commercial law harmonization body (OHADA). The legal system, including the Supreme Court, has been restructured, the defence ministry audited and a national plan for good governance implemented (African Development Bank, 67).
The report by the African bank continues to detail how 45 medium-sized state enterprises were privatized in the period between 1991 and 2002 (pg. 68). These moves reveal a need by the country to relieve control of the economy from the government, which has in turn affected how the country’s political structures and control mechanisms have changed in the post-instability period. Privatization of state enterprises resulted in decreased the amount of money the state spent on subsidies, from 33 million dollars in 1991 to 2.3 million dollars in 1999, while 17 million dollars were raised for the state budget in the same period (pg. 68). In 2011, the second round of the project kicked off, and larger entities that dealt with water, electricity and oil were to be privatized. Increased privatization meant that politicians had fewer avenues through which to reward cronies, who would previously be appointed to head these institutions.
Role of the military
Prior to the present democratic outlook of Burkina Faso’s political composition, coups were numerous in the country. Key to these coups was the military, which was the tool, used by successive individuals to rise to power. The military has played an important role in influencing how Burkina Faso’s government has operated, and this aspect was most evident during Blaise Compaore’s regime. Compaore, who was in power for over two decades, was a member of the military before he became president, where he still retained his rank of captain (International Crisis Group, 11). The prevailing trend in the volatile West African region is that stability in the military results in political stability, and Compaore was able to maintain discipline within the armed forces. Between the late 1980s and the late 1990s, the military was also suspected to be the tool which the government used to enforce its laws and eliminate those who manifested divergent opinions, a practice that culminated in the murder of Norbert Zongo in 1998 (pg. 12).
The influence of the military in Burkinabe politics necessitated a cull, and the early 2000s witnessed a rectification period where the military’s most threatening elements were either exiled or killed, with the intention of eliminating the danger of a coup (pg. 12). In the same vein, a presidential regiment consisting of up to 800 soldiers who were loyal to the president was formed. Members of this regiment received preferential treatment, better pay and had higher quality weapons and training (pg. 12-13). This new military structure increased the government’s control over it, and it was held as a model for other West African countries to model their militaries after. However, these standards declined, leading to mutinies that were experience in the first half of 2011, necessitating the need for further reforms. In 2014, the military has once again taken charge in a move that has attracted condemnation from the African Union, civil society groups and the United States.
Traditional authority
Political instability and the voice of the military resulted in numerous leadership changes up to 1991, and the subsequent period witnessed authoritarian rule as new measures were introduced to counter the military’s influence. The ideal middle ground between authoritarianism and political instability is democracy, and numerous reform agenda have been implemented in the quest to achieve political stability. Between 1897 and 1960, Burkina Faso was a French colony. The French exploited the interethnic differences that were prevalent in the area to undermine relationships between the ethnic groups (Williamson, 12). The colony was at some time broken up and shared between neighbouring countries such as Cote D’Ivoire. Such moves by the colonial authority served to increase the influence of tribal leaders, an aspect that has been present to date. The French frequently backed one ethnic group against the other, in the quest to occupy land (pg. 13). The mind-set where the strongest prevails extended itself to post-colonial Burkina Faso, as violent changes of government were frequent.
Although the French signed away most of the powers held by ethnic kings through protection treaties, this did not result in loss of influence over the people, and any successful regime had to seek the support of these tribal leaders for it to be successful. An example of this is Compaore, who managed to get the military and tribal leaders to back his rule, the two most popular elements of resistance. The move by the French to exploit ethnic differences resulted in a fractured country, which subsequently affected its political stability, as ethnic leaders had increased say in the success of the government. This move, coupled with French assimilation technique, also resulted in a fractured independence movement as some wanted complete independence, while others saw they had more to gain if the territory remained a colony (pg. 17). These differences formed the basis of a prolonged political instability that followed the country's independence.
Political and cultural factors
Burkina Faso has recently developed a reputation of being relatively stable in comparison to its neighbours, but this does not change the fact that it has experienced its fair share of violent extremism. Despite the measures taken to stabilize the country, it remains vulnerable to violent extremism, as exhibited by the recent takeover by the military. Political drivers such as corruption and impunity, economic drivers such as unmet social and economic needs and cultural factors such as religion are possible avenues through which extremism manifests itself (Loada and Romaniuk, ix). The country’s political scene shows a dearth of political and civil rights, which subsequent regimes have failed to address. Loada and Romaniuk (pg. 9-10) also propose that the government’s proclivity to violate human rights, foreign occupation, endemic corruption and government funded violence as some of the factors that have contributed to the country’s instability.
The article also continues to propose the belief that the west is targeting the country’s strong Islamic roots, its cultural practices and traditions as some cultural factors that have contributed to instability (pg. 10). Such beliefs make it easier for locals to resist ‘western’ ideals such as democracy on the premise that they will result in the extin...