International records / OpenAlex research

African Political Systems: Indirect Rule and Democratic Processes

DEMOCRACY, in the Western sense of government by a central legislative body nominated by the people, is, with the exception of Liberia, a recent development in West Africa. To date, the European colonies that have made the greatest strides in this direction have been the Gold Coast and Nigeria. It is incorrect, however, to assume that democratic processes are foreign to the area, for the people of the Guinea Coast have long had a voice in political affairs, as a high degree of democracy is present in the indigenous culture. It is this native political structure, the changes resulting from Euro…