Abstract

Taking off from reflections on the relevance of traditional political ideas for a democratic order in contemporary Africa, some traits, chances, and problems of Kwasi Wiredu's model of a non-party consensual democracy are analyzed. The goal of this article is to show that a currently viable adaption and transformation of the African democratic heritage could help to consolidate Africa's multicultural societies. A central task in this process lies in the reconciliation of democracy and justice via the establishment of a consensus-oriented dialogue for decision-making, a constitutional legitimation of the rule of ethnic groups, and a decentralisation of political power, so that local and regional autonomy becomes possible.