On Development and Democracy: The Willing and Unwilling Goers

Abstract

This article argues that the question of what comes first between development and democracy is a settled question: each is a standalone though not an isolated phenomenon. The analysis put forth, therefore, is an attempt to comprehend some of the dynamics when the two phenomena interact. It is the article‘s contention that the force which seems to propel and relate the two is the very urge of the people to participate in the developmental and democratic process of their societies. In the final analysis, the article maintains that nowhere in the world have the two phenomena (development and democracy) ever been achieved or received on a silver plate. The powers that be must use their authority to guide even to the point of coercing the ‗Unwilling Goers‘ to significantly participate in the development and democratic process of their communities.