Pervasive clientelism has been a feature of Africa’s non-democratic states for decades.
As they move to multi party politics, will greater accountability lessen clientelism? Will clientelism evolve into new forms? This paper is taken from a collection of essays on the linkages between citizens and politicians in modern democracies.
It examines the persistence and evolution of clientelism in Africa since independence.
It argues that the patterns emerging in the wake of the Third Wave of democratisation are often similar to those which emerged in post-independence Africa.