THE IMPACT OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE ON IDENTITY CONFLICTS IN THE MIDDLE BELT REGION OF NIGERIA

Abstract

The article examines the impact of democratic governance on violent identity conflicts in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria. The central thesis of this paper is that, the absence of profound democratic institutions provide ground for political mobilisation along ethnic and religious fault lines, therefore, stimulates violent identity conflicts in this region. The article employs midrange democratic theory to establish the nexus between democratic governance and prevalence of violent identity conflicts particularly in the Middle Belt. Midrange democratic theory admits that, midrange democracies are mere institutionalised elections, therefore undermining horizontal accountability and adherence to formal rules. The methodology employed in this paper is qualitative analysis, which relies solely on written sources, and it encompasses documents, monographs, manuscripts, journals articles as well as government reports. Democratic governance is essentially about profound institutions building which transcends mere institutionalisation of elections, thus, the absence of adherence to formal rules serves as a major cause of violent identity conflicts. This is because central to identity conflicts and violence is the absence of profound democratic. The paper recommended that, eradicating identity conflicts in Nigeria should transcend the symptoms of Nigeria’s ethnic and religious diversities to focus on addressing the institutionalised marginalisation and inequalities that precipitate not only violent conflict in the Middle Belt but Nigeria in general.