State Capacity and Democratisation in Southern Africa

This chapter examines the link between the nature, role and composition of the state in developing countries and problems of security, and assesses whether this provides any insights into the questions of state capacity and conflict in southern Africa. It explores the challenges of democratisation and asks whether democracy, at least in its liberal-democratic form, is sustainable in the sub-region, given the existing deficiencies in state capacity. The chapter discusses the implications of such weakness in state capacity for both external and internal security. It describes the effects and implications of globalisation and democratisation, and suggests that southern African states should explore the available options when interacting with the global system, and constructing appropriate systems of governance. The chapter argues that solutions to the ‘insecurity dilemma’ in southern Africa lie not in further denuding the capacity of the region’s states and in identifying their key roles in security and development, in partnership with civil society and the private sector.