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The Legacy of Colonialism on the Rule of Law in Sub Saharan Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 December 2019

Joel Samuels
Joel Samuels*
Affiliation:
Rule of Law Collaborative, University of South Carolina.
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Extract

The impact of the colonial legacy and the decolonization process on the rule of law in sub-Saharan Africa encompasses virtually every component of the rule of law—governance, accountability, transparency, corruption, human rights, gender rights, access to justice, and the assurance of clear, publicized, stable, and just laws. These remarks are intended to provide an overview of some of the consequences of that legacy on the slow and delicate march toward a future where states and their leaders across the region embrace and abide by the rule of law.

Type
Diverse Perspectives on the Impact of Colonialism on International Law
Information
Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting , Volume 113 , 2019 , pp. 63 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by The American Society of International Law

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Footnotes

The author would like to thank Matthew Burge, Claire Dorbandt, and Claire Sears for their excellent research assistance and support on this and related projects.

References

1 These remarks focus on the lasting legacies of the French and British colonial powers in Africa, rather than those of Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, as their impacts cast the longest shadow. I will also note that these remarks contain a great deal of generalization due to the panel's time constraints.

2 Shyam Sunder, Changing Expectations as a Source of and Remedy for Corruption, J. Pub. Budgeting, Accounting & Fin. Mgmt. 421 (2005); Gwen N. Lesetedi & Munyae M. Mulinge, Interrogating Our Past: Colonialism and Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa, Afr. J. Pol. Sci. 17 (1998).