An Examination of the Nexus between Liberal Democracy and National Development: A Comparative Study of Ghana and Singapore

Abstract

The economic performance of democratic states in Africa is a rising concern against the assumptions of the modernization theory that, developing nations must adopt the values of the western societies (democracy) in order to develop. The third wave of democratization in Africa rather led to harsh economic conditions, especially from the international financial institutions as a means of receiving aid. These conditions deteriorated the economic development of most African states and cast doubts on the assertion that liberal democracy facilitates development. This leads to the question of whether democracy is the ideal form of governance for developing states. Should Ghana adopt another governance model in order to develop? The study primarily examines the relationship between the political system of Ghana and its path to economic growth and development by analyzing some key factors that contributed to the development of Singapore as a blueprint for Ghana. Using a mixed-method research approach, the study employed the Excel Software to analyze the performance of both states using the economic growth, inflation levels and the Human Development Index (HDI), as against the political system of Ghana under a democratic rule and Singapore, an authoritarian rule. The study indicates that Singapore outperformed Ghana in all the economic indicators adopted in the study which some scholar’s attribute to the success of the existence of the one-party dominance –the People’s Action Party (PAP). The study definitively answers the question that democracy significantly impacts growth when its tenets are applied with some developmental strategies. Ghana should continue to promote its democratic credentials; however, there’s the need to change the focus from just conducting elections and winning power to the development of the nation.