Whose Democracy? Ngos and the Democracy Project in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone
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WHOSE DEMOCRACY? NGOS AND THE DEMOCRACY PROJECT IN POST-CONFLICT SIERRA LEONE By FREDLINE AMAYBEL OLAYINKA M’CORMACK-HALE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 Fredline Amaybel Olayinka M’Cormack-Hale 2 To my parents, Fred and May M’Cormack; and my husband, Aaron Hale, without whose love and support this dissertation would not have come to fruition. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this dissertation is a result of blessings that are too many to count; blessings that include an understanding and accommodating committee that have worked tirelessly with me; family members that have encouraged and supported me in Sierra Leone as well as the US; friends, research associates, and of course, the respondents in the communities in Kailahun and Koinadugu in Sierra Leone without whom this research would never have been possible. My debt of gratitude is extensive and this list is by no means comprehensive. My parents have been a source of inspiration, strength and guidance along these many, many years of schooling and I am thankful that they never lost faith in my ability to persevere, and finish. My extended family in Sierra Leone, including the Bucks and Mrs. Esme James were also invaluable in providing both moral and research support. I am also thankful to my advisors and committee members who served in various capacities and whose support helped me to continue even when I thought I could not. My chair, Dr. Goran Hyden has been a pillar of support, facilitating the entire process. Dr. Staffan Lindberg has also helped greatly, stemming from before he was on the committee, and has provided advice ranging from research design and conceptualization, to SPSS and other technicalities; Professors Hozic and Barkin were always ready to lend a listening ear to any problems that came up, offering creative solutions to seemingly intractable problems; Dr. Leonardo Villalón for being so accommodating to step in at the last minute and Dr. Brenda Chalfin for getting the ball rolling by arranging weekly meetings with me where I delivered chapters. I also wish to thank Dr. Ken Mease, who although not a committee member nevertheless was always willing to sacrifice his time, showing me new and interesting ways in which to analyze sheets of incomprehensible data. Special thanks also go to my adopted Aunt, 4 Dr. Barbara McDade who has been an instrumental part of my life and family since my arrival in Gainesville. I am indebted to my able team of student research assistants: Yujin Cho, Chelsea Hansen and Elyssa Tannenbaum, without whose able help, nimble fingers and attention to detail, the data would not have been entered, so that statistical analysis could commence. They also provided interesting insights into the data. Comparativists always owe a debt of gratitude to those who generously open up their doors, homes and hearts to enquiring strangers, nosily trying to find out as much as they can. I would like to thank the community members of the chiefdoms in which research was conducted for their patience in responding to long questionnaires that probed various aspects of their life. Despite the length of the surveys and the tediousness of some questions, they were always gracious and allowed me the privilege of entering their lives and learning from them. Thanks also to the community-based data collectors that assisted in this endeavor. I am grateful to a number of Sierra Leonean heads of various local civil society organizations as well as university professors that took time out to speak with me. Charlie Hughes and Gibril Sesay in particular, were most helpful in helping me see alternative truths, as was Dr. Joe A. D. Alie of Fourah Bay College. I am also grateful to the following organizations: Oxfam GB, 50/50, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Management Systems International (MSI), and CARE International for providing ready access to the communities in which they work, as well as taking the time to speak with me in detail about the work they do. Special thanks go to Abimbola Akinyemi of Oxfam GB and the staff of the PACER Project of 50/50 for administrative and other support. I am also indebted to Francis Johnston of MSI for the many hours he spent helping me understand 5 the intricacies of the Strengthening Democratic Governance Project as well as Jason Phillips of IRC and his wife for their warm hospitality and kind assistance. I would also like to thank the United States Institute of Peace, whose provision of a Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellowship enabled me to both complete the research and write up the dissertation. Of course, the process of writing and finishing up would not have possible without the able assistance of Debbie Wallen, Sue Lawless-Yanchisin and Drew Blair, who have provided invaluable institutional and cheerleading support along the way. Finally, the support of my husband has been instrumental in the completion of this dissertation. Aaron’s patience and love helped me immensely, and there are no words to express how much I have appreciated all he has done during this process. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................11 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................13 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................................14 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................17 International Assistance and Democratization .......................................................................17 Democracy Assistance and Civil Society Promotion .............................................................19 Development and Democracy Assistance: Two sides of the same coin?........................20 NGOs and Civil Society Building: What Do We Know? ...............................................22 Problems in Measuring Democracy and Development Assistance.................................27 What are the Linkages? Toward an Understanding of Development and Democracy Assistance and Mass Political Behavior .............................................................................28 Situating Sierra Leone ............................................................................................................32 2 CULTIVATING DEMOCRACY IN POST-CONFLICT CONTEXTS................................41 In the Aftermath of Conflict: International Assistance in Post-War States............................41 International Interventions in Post-Conflict States: the Various Components................44 The Rise of NGOs and Assistance Aimed at Promoting Democracy .............................47 Specification and Measurement of Variables of Importance .................................................49 Strengthening Democracy: Defining the Concept...........................................................54 Operationalizing Democracy Strengthening ...................................................................59 Measurement of Attitudes and Beliefs ............................................................................60 Belief in democratic legitimacy ...............................................................................60 Cognitive awareness.................................................................................................61 Measurement of Political Behavior.................................................................................62 Political engagement ................................................................................................62 Civic engagement.....................................................................................................63 Competing Explanations for Democracy Strengthening ........................................................63 Institutional Explanations, With a Focus on Civil Society..............................................63 Theorized Relationships ..................................................................................................68 Methods of Research ..............................................................................................................72 Criteria for Research Site Selection........................................................................................74 7 Selection of Districts and Communities..........................................................................74 Selection of Chiefdoms and Rural Communities Within Chiefdoms .............................76 Selected Communities: A Successful Process?...............................................................77 Specification of the Independent Variable: The Meaning and Process of NGO Participation ........................................................................................................................78 Research Team Composition and Execution of Research......................................................79 Research Process ....................................................................................................................79