Protracted transitions among Africa's new democracies

Discussions of democratic transition and consolidation fail to devote much consideration to transitions in neo‐patrimonial regimes, such as those found in many African countries. This article argues that in such cases, the conceptual distinction between transition and consolidation may break down because the transition does not end until the polity, still in the midst of democratization, takes on some attributes of a consolidated democracy. Hence, protracted transition and consolidation may be one and the same, or processes that substantially, if not entirely, overlap each other. After briefly contrasting neo‐patrimonial regimes with the protracted transition ideal type, the essay adapts that ideal type to fit Africa's neo‐patrimonial regimes, drawing on evidence from contemporary politics in six African countries: South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.