Evaluating the impact of gerontocracy on the participation of millennials and generation Z in Africa’s political space

Chapter One: Introduction

A gerontocracy refers to a society where the older people hold a majority of the decision-making positions in the political and socioeconomic circles. In Africa’s political context, most of the individuals that hold positions of power tend to belong to the old generation; a group commonly referred to as the ‘old guard.’ The domination of the continent’s political space by the aged is perceived as limiting the ability of millennials to claim a stake in politics. This factor also erodes their socioeconomic influence despite their being the majority in the region. In the context of this paper, millennials refer to individuals born after 1980 up to 1996 based on the definition offered by the World Bank (Dimock, 2019). Generation Z refers to individuals born after 1996.  In this proposal, an evaluation of the impact that entrenched gerontocracy has had on the level of participation in Africa’s political space by its youth will occur. An examination of the underlying reasons for this occurrence as well as its effects will take place. More critically, an assessment of the paradox in which the youth are the majority, but they control less of the political space will occur.

Background

Beginning the 1950s, the clamor for independence from colonial states, especially Britain and France, began in earnest. Consequently, on 6^th March 1957, Ghana (then known as Gold Coast) became the first country in the continent to achieve self-rule. The period was full of optimism from the indigenous populations because it presented an opportunity for self-government and freedom — most of which had been constrained during the colonial period. Further, it was widely expected that the newly independent states would transition into fair and democratic societies where all individuals had equal access to political, social, and economic activities.

Nonetheless, Keller (1995) asserts that after independence, most of the African states reverted to autocratic rule. In most instances, the nations conducted elections; however, these were only meant to create the perception of democracy. Yet, the polls were often mismanaged and rigged in favor of the incumbents. Thus, the promise of freedom and representative leadership failed to manifest in Africa.

The failure of Africa’s governance system correlates directly with the notion of gerontocracy. Notably, most of the independence heroes ended up being dominating the political state in independent Africa. Yet, most of them were already of relatively advanced ages. For instance, Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta was 66 years old when he became the first prime minister of Kenya in 1963. Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe became his country’s leader at the age of 63 years. Additionally, even those colonial liberators that became de facto leaders after independence when still young went on to hold to power for prolonged periods; hence, entrenching the gerontology. A case in point is Gamal Abdel Nasser who was 48 years old when he became Egypt’s leader and held on to that position for 16 years — death, rather than political transition ended his reign.

Most of the founding leaders of the continent became motivated to hold on to their seats because of self-interests. Consequently, this situation provides them with the impetus to micromanage political institutions, including electoral bodies to their advantage. Primarily, structural and systematic barriers to the inclusion of the young in Africa’s political space exist. This move implies that the continent’s youthful population has consistently missed the opportunity to obtain political power in their respective countries, an occurrence that remains common to-date.

Justification for the Research

Africa’s youths make up the most substantial proportion of its population (below 40 years). Yet, because of the gerontocracy, their participation in political decision-making is minimal. This outcome also has implications for its social and economic spheres. Consequently, the proportion of youths that bear the brunt of inequality is high when compared to the old generation. The lack of equitable intergeneration transfer of power and wealth hurts the continent’s economic growth and development. Further, it also implies that a major portion of its human resource capital remains unused.

Accordingly, this study is essential because it highlights the underlying causes of the phenomenon. Having an understanding of the barriers that the youthful population faces in accessing political opportunities will form the basis for devising appropriate solutions. Similarly, the paper will provide International Relations (IR) students and practitioners an understanding of the power dynamics that occur within the continent, especially as it concerns age.

Research Objective

1. To evaluate the impact of gerontocracy on the participation of millennials and generation Z in Africa’s political space.

Research Questions

1. Is gerontology a barrier to access to the political space among Africa’s youth?
2. Why is gerontology persistent in Africa’s political landscape?

• What are the reasons behind the minimal participation in civic activities by Africa’s youth?

Scope of the Study

The study seeks to evaluate the effect of gerontocracy on the participation of Africa’s youthful population in the political space. Thus, it is necessary to assess pertinent issues as they relate to access to the political sphere. Consequently, the contents of this paper will be limited to the effect of age on political dynamics. Secondly, the paper will focus on the continent of Africa in its assessment. Nonetheless, in the literature section, publications focusing on other regions are applicable. This step is necessary to provide a broad perspective of the issue.

Conceptual Framework

In undertaking this study, the underlying theoretical framework is constructivism in international relations. According to Peltonen (2017), constructivism is a deterministic school of thought. Thus, it contends that it is possible to explain any occurrence in the sphere of IR from a historical or social perspective. This approach contrasts with the neoliberal and neorealist perspectives which view relevant issues in the political field as being part of a natural order of things. Based on this framework, it is evident that the dynamics of the relationships among people of different ages are a social construction. Furthermore, the origin of this relationship in Africa (as it relates to obtaining political power) can be traced back to the period of the struggle for decolonization from European colonial masters. Consequently, it denotes a historical point of view on the issue. Accordingly, this study fits into constructivism as a theoretical context because it is possible to evaluate the core subject from a historical and social perspective.

Chapter Two: Literature Review

            Political governance in Africa has attracted numerous debates for an extended period. Such a situation must be viewed with the context of poor leadership and development, factors that have become synonymous with the continent. Consequently, various scholars have sought to explore the issue in depth; thus, multiple publications on the topic exist.

One such literature is source is an article whose author is Adebayo. According to Adebayo (2018), the period between the later 1950s and early 1960s represents a major shift in the continent’s power structure because of the wave of decolonization. Accordingly, the author holds that a majority of the inhabitants were full of optimism associated with self-rule. However, the fulfillment of such expectations never occurred. Instead, autocracy and anarchy have become the common political attributes of the region. In some places, civil unrest has become the norm.

Adebayo (2018) attempts to offer explanations for the occurrence. He argues that in most of the countries, independence liberators went on to become the “founding fathers” of the nascent nations. This assertion is evident in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe whose founding leaders, Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere, and Robert Mugabe respectively, were also key figures in the respective independence movement. Nonetheless, Adebayo (2018) holds that rather than offering guidance, some of these “founding fathers” perceived themselves to be above the law.

One of the areas where the pioneer leaders governed with anarchy concerns the electoral process. Adebayo (2018) intimates that such leaders perceived the countries to be personal fiefdoms. Hence, to retain power, most of them resorted to electoral manipulation. Such practices illustrate the reasons why, in some African states, electoral injustices have become entrenched and systematic to-date. Such actions imply that the old generation of politicians has consistently retained power to the exclusion of the youth. Adebayo (2018) postulates that two reasons exist for this scenario. First, the old guard fears losing influence to a youthful generation that they have control over. Secondly, in most of the countries, millennials often identify with opposition parties, a factor that threatens the power dominance of the ruling elite — most of whom belong to the ruling parties. Notably, most of the ruling parties are also those that were established by the founding leaders after independence. They include the African National Congress (ANC), Chama Cha Maendeleo (CCM), and the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe respectively are apt illustrations.

Apart from the fear of losing influence, Keller (1995) also contends that settler interests also played a critical role in the mismanagement of Africa; thus, pushing it towards gerontology. Keller (1995) argues that in most of the colonies, the colonialists, especially Britain and France, retained significant interests in trade and economics. Therefore, they had sufficient justifications to ensure that progressive politics did not take root in the continent. Consequently, in exchange for independence, they co-opted liberation leaders into their scheme. The latter would ensure that the interests of the colonialists in the newly independent states were maintained while the former would guarantee the rulers’ stay in power. This aspect may have created the aura of invincibility that the leaders possessed. Adebayo (2018) refers to this situation as the perception that they were above the law. Consequently, it allowed them to rule longer, and as they aged, they excluded the younger generation from the political space; hence, the entrenchment of gerontology.

The leap towards authoritarianism, as opposed to the expectation of progressive democracy, is a significant cause of the elderly remaining in the political landscape. In a study on why non-democratic states produce older leaders, Magni-Berton and Panel (2017) offer further justifications for this occurrence. The authors hold that the prevalence of electoral manipulation implies that no legal means of removing the leader from power exist. Extra-judicial ways like coups often tend to bear a considerable cost, particularly in terms of the human cost. This outcome implies that old leaders remain in power for long, a situation that would not have been probable in a genuinely democratic state.

Nonetheless, Magni-Berton and Panel (2017) hold that the reduced participation of the young in the political affairs of a state in an undemocratic society is deliberate. They refer to this phenomenon as “strategic gerontology.” Substantially, it means that because of the high costs associated with changing leaders in an autocratic state, the electorate chooses to allow them to continue ruling. The purpose of this approach is that the leader would be removed from power naturally through death, an outcome that lowers the costs associated with a change in leadership.

However, a study done by Bangura (2019) counters the suppositions of Magni-Berton and Panel (2017). Bangura (2019) evaluate the issue from the perspective of Guinea, a country in West Africa. Like many other countries, Guinea fits into the context of this study because gerontology is perverse. The clamor for power and control of resources in the Mano river basis led to protracted civil conflict in the neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia. Yet, despite Guinea having an interest in the region, it never descended into war, especially its youth. Bangura (2019) researched the underlying reasons for this occurrence and concluded the following: Firstly, the youth of Guinea kept off the war because of their experiences from previous civil wars in the region. Secondly, adequate antiwar sensitization had occurred. This aspect indicates that other elements may influence the youthful population not to resist the leadership of old autocratic leaders apart from the notion of strategic gerontology as postulated by Magni-Berton and Panel (2017).

Corruption is also a significant contributor to the entrenchment of gerontology in Africa. In a political discussion on youth participation in leadership, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance [IDEA] (2018) held that corruption denies the youth an opportunity to participate in the political process. The lack of social and economics because of poor leadership implies that many African youth lack opportunities for economic improvement. Consequently, they become vulnerable to corruption, a factor that has led to money being a significant tool that distorts Africa’s political landscape in favor of the old — because of inequality and their strategic positions in positions of power; they possess more financial resources. Accordingly, despite the numerical might of millennials and generation Z in the continent, their political force remains significantly low.

However, not all scholars on the subject contend that the octogenarian generation is culpable for the disinterest and non-participation of millennials and generation Z members in political affairs of their respective countries. Zachara (2019) also holds that millennials are also part of the problem. He argues that despite their large number and potential political impact, they do not play an active role in their nations’ civic duties, a factor that gives them a minimal say in the ensuing political discourse. Zachara (2019) blames this situation on the lack of political knowledge and ideology.

Additionally, Zachara (2019) also argues that the desacralization of politics is also a cause. It refers to the lack of transformational leaders that the youth can emulate. Essentially, it implies that while the youth do not reject politics in its entirety; instead, they are opposed to the traditional norms of politics that they perceive as not representative of their aspirations. Conclusively, the study done by Zachara (2019) indicates that a disconnect between the old and current generations exist.

The view that millennials reject the traditional political values is illustrated in an article authored by Howe (2017) in the Forbes magazine. Howes (2017) makes his analysis using the European nation of Austria as a case study. In 2017, the country elected Sebastian Kurz, a 31-year old, to become its chancellor — given his age, he remains an outlier in the political scene not just in Europe but across the globe. Howe (2017) submits that the primary reason Kurz won the election was that his policies varied from those of the establishment, including the belief in a liberal democracy. Consequently, it is possible to conclude that the disconnect between the old class of politicians and its youthful populations has led to the latter becoming less invested in the political process.

In the long run, such a situation is not sustainable. In a study undertaken by Ghatak (2016), sociopolitical challenges like terrorism and civil war in South Asia are attributed to political exclusion. Evaluating such an issue from Africa’s perspective, a similar case of political exclusion also exists because of the age dynamics in the political scene. Therefore, gerontology is one of the indirect causes of instability in most of the African states. This outcome is negative for the continent because it creates the basis for continued underdevelopment. When combined with a growing youthful population, this situation may lead to major social instability in the medium term unless the situation is rectified.

Research Methodology

The structure of this proposal is based on a positivist perspective. Positivism is a crucial research philosophy for social science research. It asserts that reality is a constant element; hence, objective observations are useful in explaining the occurrence of a particular phenomenon, in this case, the effect of gerontology on the participation of millennials and generation Z in the political space.

Research Method and Study Design

The research will adopt the qualitative methodology. Qualitative studies are beneficial, especially in social sciences like IR, because it is possible to probe broad aspects of a subject from them. This element contrasts with quantitative studies whose subject matter is restricted to its hypothesis. Secondly, such studies do not have the limitations of a quantitative study. For instance, in case a researcher feels that the research questions and settings do not contribute fully to the research objective, they can vary the same. Such flexibility is not possible in a quantitative assessment. Thirdly, in a qualitative approach, it is easy to tailor the methodology to suit the needs of the target audience. The collection of data will entail the use of interviews with the subsequent analysis being done using the process of thematic analysis.

Data Collection and Analysis

            The primary data collection method is interviews. They are an appropriate method for qualitative studies. Their effectiveness arises because they offer a researcher with the opportunity to explore broad areas of a study subject without the limitations present in the research questions of a quantitative study. This outcome is possible because interview questions tend to be open-ended; hence, respondents have no limit on the scope of their responses, if they are relative to the study subject. Moreover, interview research is more refined, especially for researchers in humanities, because they can gauge the attitudes and perceptions of interviewees. Additionally, the administration cost of interviews is relatively low when compared to other data collection tools. As an illustration, it is possible to conduct online interviews through software applications like Skype and Zoom.

In this study, face-to-face interviews are preferable. The respondent population will consist of past and present political leaders, political scientists, IR practitioners, and youths. The targeted number of respondents is twenty. This number is appropriate because it will offer the researcher suitable and broad perspectives while also ensuring that the workload resulting from the interviews is manageable.

Data analysis is an important component of a research study. A thematic analysis will serve as the main tool for analysis of the interview responses. It involves decoding the respondents’ perspectives then evaluating the underlying themes from the replies. The major themes will act as the main findings of the research study. This process will precede the findings and discussion section of the final paper.

Research Ethics

It is crucial to uphold ethical principles when undertaking research. Ethics form an integral part of the objectivity of research. In this paper, ethics will be maintained by obtaining informed consent from all the interviewees. Before carrying on with the interviews, the respondents will be made aware of the content and purpose of the study. Additionally, their personal identifying information will be part of the final paper. This step is necessary because it guarantees the respondents of their confidentiality.

References

Keller, E. (1995). Decolonization, independence, and the failure of politics. In P. Martin (Eds.), Africa (pp. 157-171). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Adebayo, J. (2018). Gerontocracy in African Politics: Youth and the Quest for Political Participation. Journal Of African Elections, 1, 140-161. https://doi.org.10.20940/jae/2018/v17i1a7

Bangura, I. (2019). Resisting War: Guinean Youth and Civil Wars in the Mano River Basin. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 14(1), 36–48. https://doi.org.10.1177/1542316619833286

Dimock, N. (2019). Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/

Ghatak, S. (2016). The Role of Political Exclusion and State Capacity in Civil Conflict in South Asia. Terrorism And Political Violence, 30(1), 74-96. https://doi.org.10.1080/09546553.2016.1150840

Howe, N. (2017). Are Millennials Giving Up on Democracy? https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2017/10/31/are-millennials-giving-up-on-democracy/#11b3a4392be1

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance [IDEA] (2018). Youth Participation in Political Processes: Second Annual Summer School for Young Leaders from African Political Parties: Kigali, Rwanda, 6–8 June 2018. https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/youth-participation-in-political-processes.pdf

Magni Berton, R., & Panel, S. (2017). Strategic gerontocracy: why non-democratic systems produce older leaders. Public Choice, 171(3-4), 409–427. https://doi.org.10.1007/s11127-017-0449-5

Peltonen, H. (2017). A tale of two cognitions: The Evolution of Social Constructivism in International Relations. Revista Brasileira De Política Internacional, 60(1). https://doi.org.10.1590/0034-7329201700105

Zachara, M. (2019). The Millennial generation in the context of political power: A leadership gap? Leadership, 1, 1-18. https://doi.org.10.1177/1742715019885704