Democracy as Interaction: A Minor Field Study of Local Political Practises in Rural Tanzania

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines the logics underpinning local political practises in a rural African context, from a democratic theory perspective. The thesis carries a threefold aim. Firstly, the empirical aim is to contribute to better empirical understanding of local political practises in a rural African context, by visualising democratic practices previously not sufficiently acknowledged. Secondly, the theoretical object aims at theory development through deepened and widened theoretical insights into local political practises in a rural African context. Thirdly, the methodological aim is to narrow the gap between normative democratic theory and empirical research on democracy in the Third World, through anchoring our analytical tool in the normative democratic theory discourse. The thesis is conducted as a case study in which Ulemo ward, Iramba district in central Tanzania constitutes the empirical ground. The material is primarily collected through interviews with local decision-makers and citizens, and by participating observations of political meetings. Using two different models of democracy?one liberal and one deliberative?as the analytical tool, the thesis conclude on interaction as the primary democratic logic of the case under consideration. Consequently, the political practises in question are labelled democracy as interaction. In the epilogue the model of "democracy as interaction" is briefly put in context. Moreover, it is argued that by challenging the predominance of the liberal account of democracy in this field of research we might visualise political practises which has so far been neglected and overcome the prevailing western bias in studies of African politics and Third World democratisation.