State and ethnicity in Botswana and Mauritius: A democratic route to development?

Botswana and Mauritius stand virtually alone among developing countries in having achieved rates of economic development rivalling those of the East Asian NICs, while maintaining democratic institutions. We compare their experiences with the goal of identifying aspects of a democratic route to development that avoids the inherent authoritarianism of the East Asian model. Our study is based upon Hyden's [1992] governance model, but we suggest two important modifications to that model. A strong state seems essential to achieving economic development, and we identify means of reducing the tendency for such states to lose accountability. Secondly, the experience of these two countries suggests ways in which the ethnic and tribal divisions that are so common in LDCs can be recognised by the state so that social pluralism makes a positive contribution to effective and democratic governance.