The early 1990s witnessed what Huntington (1991) called the âthird wave of democracyâ in the African continent . This period witnessed the move of most African countries from a single-party structure to a multi-party democratic system. To facilitate and consolidate this democratic process, these new democratic African countries were expected to formulate and implement reforms that would strengthen human rights, freedom of speech and freedom of the mass media.
Part of this reform, according to Price (2002), entails devising communication policies that will advance the democratic process, as media freedom and freedom of expression are considered vital ingredients to the sustenance of any democracy . Bennett and Serrin (2007), while extending this thought further, noted that the mass media play an active role in developing, building and strengthening democratic principles and institutions. Consequently, Moyer (a US journalist) added that âthe 250-year-old experiment in self-government in America will not make itâŚ. As journalism goes, so goes democracyâ (2008: n/p). From the above assertions, it can be inferred that the mass media are the central nervous system of democracy, hence the notion that the quality of any democracy is dependent on the quality of mass media and reforms in operation (Blankson 2007).
Voltmer (2008) argues that emerging democracies are made to abandon anti-democratic tendencies (e.g. suppression of free speech and censorship of the media) and embrace reforms that significantly contribute to and promote competitive and participatory political systems (Rozumilowicz 2002), and as such, these reform initiatives should reflect universal norms and ideologies of media freedom. Consequently, policymakers from these emerging democracies transplant established democraciesâ blueprints or frameworks (Price and Verhulst 2000). The ability of these emerging democracies to implement these neoliberal reforms form the basis for ascertaining and appraising the democratic processes in these countries. Most media watchdog organizations such as Article 19 , Reporters without Borders (RSF) and Freedom House use these as the yardsticks for measuring or ascertaining the state of democratization in these countries.
This approach is problematic as the implementation of neoliberal policies and reforms without an understanding of the interplay of the socio-political, economic and cultural factors in the democratization processes is misleading. This is because, according to Voltmer (2008), transplanting Western neoliberal policies into emerging democracies will not necessarily produce the desired results due to the influence and role of past history and inherent political, economic and cultural factors in the reform process. In addition, Jakubowicz (2002) posited that policies alone cannot guarantee the needed change in strengthening these emerging democratic institutions.
Rationale for Case Studies of Ghana and Nigeria
Most studies on media reforms and democratization processes have focused on South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Kenya among others. In addition, these studies also focus on either the role of political actors in the democratization process (Voltmer 2008), or adopt the normative approach of evaluating media reforms based on a set of conditions as earlier noted (Mabadeje 2004; Kwame 2004). It is therefore necessary to examine the democratization process in relation to the struggle between media actors (political and economic) and the media themselves with particular focus on Ghana and Nigeria which are often neglected. The focus on Ghana and Nigeria cannot be overemphasized as they both share similar historical and developmental backgrounds.
Apart from having a similar history of being colonized by the same country, Ghana and Nigeria started their re-democratization processes in 1992 and 1999 respectively after prolonged authoritarian military regimes lasting over two decades, which weakened their democratic constructs (Clapham 1993; Ojo 2003; Ogbondah 2004). During this authoritarian period, weak state institutions such as the media were built and structured to support the military enclaves, leading to the underdevelopment of both countries. In the early 1990s, in the wake of the economic recession, both countries implemented the neoliberal policy of structural adjustment program (SAP) (Boafo-Arthur 1998; Onwumechili 2007). Both countries have similar media structures and the mass media played a significant role in the struggle for independence and re-democratization processes.
Therefore, in the wake of re-democratization , policymakers and other political actors were made to formulate policies that will help build strong institutions, and promote democratic cultures of media freedom and freedom of expression which are considered a major bane in both countries. Hence, the holistic formulation and implementation of policies that will facilitate the re-democratization process, as this was made a condition for the continuous support of Western aid and assistance (LaMay 2007). However, most studies that have examined the reform processes have produced different positions and arguments. Radelet (2010), in his study, argues that with the current reform processes in Ghana there is a clear break from the past, which will facilitate a vibrant democracy , good governance and economic development . On the other hand, Campbell (2011) stated that the current reforms being implemented in Nigeria are not producing the desired results due to the governmentâs failure to create an holistic policy framework that will strengthen the democratic process. Consequently, the assertion that Nigeria is dancing on the brink of becoming a failed state and that the nascent democracy is being undermined.
Both statements reflect the dominant perspective upon which scholars and policymakers often judge reform processes in emerging democracies based on the approach of ticking boxes to ascertain whether certain criteria are in place to aid the reform process, and if governments allow journalists to exercise their responsibilities without being arrested or brutalized. Therefore, we need to go beyond the periphery of ascertaining the success of media reforms based not on conditionality , but on the need to examine compatibility of these reform policies with the antecedents of these emerging democracies. Likewise, we need to examine the challenges encountered and the interest reflected in the media reform process to determine if the new media systems are under political and economic pressures associated with emerging democracies. Using a comparative approach to ascertain whether there are common patterns between these two emerging democracies that have similar histories, I seek to address the following pertinent questions: what is the state of the media reforms in Ghana and Nigeria? What are the fundamental principles guiding these reforms? What criteria can be used in evaluating media reforms in emerging democracies? Are these criteria culturally bound or universally applicable? And whose interest is reflected in the whole reform exercise?
Democracy and Media Freedom: Revisiting the Debate
The debate on democracy and media freedom is as old as man. I have been exposed to arguments that democracy is a Western concept and that its features are not compatible with the African continent . Likewise, the counter argument that democracy actually started in Africa and attempts at promoting and enforcing another form (i.e. a âWestern formâ) has led to the failure of most African states. What is striking in this debate is the idea that democracy is never African and if Africa has its own form of democracy, as most Africanists claim, then how is it that there has never been a success story about an African democracy? According to Adebanwi and Obadare (2011: 314) there is always the debate whether âAfricaâs total environment, its history, politics, economics and culture, are conducive to democracy and supportive of democratic lifeâ. This question echoes the pessimistic views of democracy in Africa. Therefore, I argue that in the conceptualization of democracy there is the need to recognize that there are different forms of democracy practiced (see Chap. 2), and the imposition or attempt at universalizing democracy has led to the unsuccessful reforms and democratization in the African continent which Adebanwi and Obadare (2011) an...