DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT IN BOTSWANA

Abstract

Botswana has social and physical settings whichcould make development difficult. Botswana is an ethnically diverse and landlocked country, with much of its landmass desert-menaced and hostile. In spite of these limitations, Botswana is considered one of the world’s development successes, and has secured for herself the status of a fast growing economy. The development gains in Botswana are often credited to the availability of minerals, particularly diamond. But mineral deposits mayimpede development as seen in most African countrieswhere natural resources have caused endless civil conflicts or where large sums of mineralwealth have been squandered. On the other hand, many developed economies are resource endowed. Thus, the abundance ofresources may or may not be a curse; and whichever case is true of any country is dependent on more fundamental factor(s) such as the nature and character of politics. From inception, Botswana’s governance system has been democratic, and this has impacted significantly on development in the country. Consequently, the study establishes a nexus between democracy and development in Botswana. The theoretical basis is systems theory, while the analytical tool is content analysis. The findings, inter alia, are that Botswana’s democracy is participatory,that the culture of corruption is not tolerated, and that the resources of the state are effectively utilized for development.