communication, 2008).
The significance to this discussion is that although this was an intelligent young man, in spite of the training in taking initiative that he had received and the opportunities that had been offered to him, in the end he could not think beyond a patron-client relationship. He did not believe he had the resources to take charge of his own life, so his only reliable course of action was to be dependent on a patron.
A different kind of encounter, that could be labeled opportunistic or attempted clientelism, is frequently experienced by foreigners in Africa. It is different from those described above in that the hopeful “client” is unknown to the foreigner. Typically, an African stops you on the street or rings the bell at your residence. This petitioner usually asks for money or sometimes for employment. He may have a prescription for medicine in his hand, or he may describe the plight of himself or his family, often in pathetic detail. The Westerner doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know if the need is genuine or not. In the end he may give the person some money, but is not content, not knowing whether he has really been helpful or has merely been duped. What puts this in the category of clientelism is that the petitioner will, if possible, seek a long-term relationship with you as his patron.
All the examples above give an idea of how clientelism affects foreigners in Africa. Africans view clientelism very differently. For Africans with limited means, who live in a society where opportunities are few, clientelism offers hope and the possibility of gaining access to resources beyond their reach. Even for Africans with some means, clientelism offers increased opportunities.
The hope of both patron and client is that the relationship will be enduring. But in practice, the loyalty of the client depends upon a continued flow of resources to him. With decreased benefits, the client will look for another patron. Hence, these relationships are often unstable. This has been the case in countless African countries where economic conditions have deteriorated, with the result that patrons have fewer resources to share with clients. In these situations, the clients look for other patrons who can supply them with goods and services that they lack. Note that the local terminology for clients and patrons can differ from place to place. The system may not be known at all by the terms used here, even if it is basically the same.
Two tables are presented below. The first contrasts the ways essential services are made available in Africa and in Western societies. The second table contrasts some of the differences between the organization of African clientelistic societies and Western societies.
Table 2.1 Service Providers in Africa and Western Societies
| Service | Provider in Africa | Provider in Western Societies |
| Money or loans | Sponsor’s friends and family, through personal relationships* | Banks or other lending agencies |
| Credit | Sponsor, often as an “advance” | Credit cards, banks, loan agencies |
| Charity: gifts of goods and services | Sponsor, personally to his clients | Government, religious and charitable organizations, on impersonal basis |
| Employment | Sponsor employs kin or clients. The relationship of the employee is frequently more important than qualifications. Nepotism is the norm. | Education, experience, and proficiency provide the bases for employment, although contacts open doors. |
| Insurance | No legal contract. Sponsor, family, and friends are the only possible sources of help. | Is purchased formally through binding contracts. |
| Access of client to sponsor, or employee to employer | Sponsor has personal relationship, client calls on sponsor at his home. | An employee is expected to handle personal matters outside of the business environment. |
| Attendance at ceremonies, weddings, funerals, and special events | Sponsor, in personal relationship | Personal matters are not brought to the workplace, although an employer may take an employee to lunch on special occasions. |
| Vehicle use, transportation, shipping, moving house | Sponsor, in personal relationship | Employee’s own vehicle, car rental, or commercial movers; occasionally friends |
*Although “patron” is the correct technical term, the word “sponsor” will be used here, as in modern English a patron usually refers to a wealthy supporter of the arts.
Table 2.2 Clientelistic and Western Societies Contrasted
| Clientelistic Society in Africa | Western Society |
| Power | |
| Power is derived from giving out resources (money, jobs, entrance to education, etc.). | Power is derived from the expressed will of a majority of the population; governing by consent. |
| Power is personalized through dominant persons. | Power is institutionalized, e.g., through political parties. |
| Power may be “legitimate” (because it is accepted by the people) but also illegal (often in spite of laws that are not enforced). | Power is legitimized through the rule of law. |
| Public resources | |
| Office holders are expected to distribute to clients the public resources to which they have access. | Office holders, as temporary custodians, have no direct ownership of public resources. |
| Civil society | |
| Society and political parties are organized vertically along ethnic, religious, or regional lines. | Society is basically organized horizontally without regard to ethnic, religious, or regional differences. |
| Civil society (organizations) is largely co-opted by ruling elites and becomes subservient to those ruling them. | Civil society, such as unions and trade associations, serves as an independent counter-force to the state. |
| Civil society is weak to negligible, allowing government to act with little restraint on those who control the levers of power. | Civil society is strong, serving as a counter-balance to government power, and is essential to the promotion of the common good/weal. |
| Politics | |
| Politicians, bureaucrats, and military chiefs “serve” their clients (kin, communities, region, religion) but do not serve the state or population at large. | Politicians and public employees are “public servants” of the state and the population at large. |
| Politics is informal, based on vertically organized individual networks, and men of power who cling to office. | Politics is institutionalized, based on interests, ideology, and regional interests, with individual leaders temporarily holding office. |
| The higher the office as “Big Men,” the greater the demand that they distribute resources directly. | Politicians serve their constituencies, but through legal mechanisms negotiated with other politicians. |
| Government | |
| Weak government institutions allow favoritism. | The state is at least theoretically neutral in regard to those who are eligible for resources. |
| Bureaucracy is arbitrary and personalized. | Bureaucracy serves those who meet legal criteria. |
| Government has few resources to distribute and therefore restricts distribution to those most loyal. | Government has relatively ample resources so that they can be widely disbursed. |
| Government is personalized, prone to favoritism, ineffectual, so is largely an “empty shell” | Government is institutionalized, professionally competent, legitimized by nation-wide vote. |
| Economic development | |
| Weak government favors political elites who control and distribute resources to clients; others are left out. | Strong government allows resources to be allocated for the common good, benefiting all. |
| Clients demand immediate returns, which preclude long-term investments for the good of all. | Development requires long-term investment with delayed but increased returns. |
*Chabal and Daloz 1999:14.
Note that some of the behaviors of Western society in real life are often carried out in ways that fall far short of the ideals of democratic practice.
Some of the common effects on society that clientelism engenders are the following:
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