DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: THE CASE OF WEST AFRICA

Following years of unprecedented economic growth and technological transformation in Africa which was preceded by decades of poor economic performance and bad governance, Africa as a whole has become a vibrant arena for democracy, civil society activism, and robust efforts, such as through the participation of young educated, middle class youth, regional organisations like the African Union and ECOWAS, to advance democratic and constitutional rule across all countries albeit with many challenges. This is more evident in West Africa as the region strives to enhance accountability and to provide support for the sustenance of democratic systems; elections have taken centre stage despite records of conflict and mal-governance that have marked severe setbacks for the continent. This paper examines how the recent boom in economic growth is affecting democratic transition in West Africa by reviewing the most recent literature on this subject. In other words, the paper focuses on how the economic and technological transformations, a process which has been accelerating over the past decades, is changing the dynamics of politics particularly when it comes to voting and evaluating political leaders. It also accesses the crucial role of the regional bodies and big countries like Nigeria role in this new landscape. In order to understand the complete transformation of events and factors which are responsible for the historic changes, due assistance was taken from the concept of modernization. It concludes that economic growth makes a huge difference in the effort to build strong political institutions but it alone is not a panacea but if offer a room for hope as elections have now become the main means through which power transitions occur