Gangsterism: A New Form of Power

Can the accountability movement respond?

On the 9th of March, the BBC ran a story about the growing cocaine route to Europe via Ecuador (Wells, 2025). It got me thinking about the increasing risk of the demise of decency towards gangsterism. Rule by might and not by law. Our civilisation, whatever is left of it, faces the risk of being overthrown not by popular insurrection but by a greedy and violent cabal. These cabals come in various shades; the ones reported by the BBC are known as a mafia from Albania. Yet others are in suits and running our governments and corporations. They are united by one vision - grand accumulation. They will not allow anything or anyone including basic laws of decency to stand in their way. They have many tactics. The Albanian mafia, we are told, will shoot if one dares to disagree with them. Other cabals run governments and use prisons as a way of silencing anyone who would dare to criticise them. Some are so popular they steal in the name of the people. There is only one way to describe the situation we are in - the end of decency and widespread acceptance of greed. We are in trouble.

Is there a way out, you may ask? The progressive forces that remain are analysing their situations in isolation from each other. We are not connecting the dots. To others, this is about threats to democracy and the rise of authoritarianism- they are right. To others, it’s about the rise of the lucrative global trade in drugs- they are also right. To others, it’s the new wave around intolerance of groups that had seemingly won the battle, such as the LGBTQI movement. They are right, as well.

We have abandoned analysing how the base (economy) affects politics, culture and society. Could it be that the real problems are in the economy? For us in Africa, it is a challenge of the lack of industrialisation and the weakening of commodity prices. To exacerbate the situation, our productivity levels in agriculture are the lowest when compared to other regions. There is limited value addition- we produce primary goods. The only site of accumulation is within the state. What is left of the private sector mostly depends on providing services to the government. Political power has come to mean economic power. The new elite have connections with government-based actors. The stage is set for the deepening of primitive accumulation. When supplying the government, a US$450.00 laptop might as well just cost US$4,500.00.

In the Global North, on the other hand, many had abandoned manufacturing, preferring instead to outsource to other regions (starting with Mexico, then China, Vietnam, etc.). Today, that strategy has come back to haunt us.

Globalisation has disrupted the global order. Rather than benefiting the authors of the strategy, it has been to China’s benefit and other late industrialisers. The Trump administration is busy trying to undo what was America’s signature project, commonly referred to as the Washington Consensus. The arsenal of tools is based on bullying and gangsterism. They reflect both deep-seated desperation and a very clear misunderstanding of how the world has changed. Whilst the US remains an important player, it is mostly seen as a net consumer of finished products. There is less of ‘made in the USA’ compared to ‘made in China’. Reversing that will take decades of economic stagnation in China and a significant decline in demand for manufactured goods from other regions outside of the United States (US). However, the US will most likely throw everything they have against China. Desperate gangsters- these ones.

Others with lesser political power will wade into the murky waters of criminality. The new drug shipping routes are heavily policed, and yet the drugs still make their way to the United Kingdom and other territories. Criminal money is a more attractive incentive to turn a blind eye, not just by a junior officer but by governments.

While they struggle against illicit drugs in developing countries, poor African countries must contend with the smuggling of their precious minerals (gold and diamonds) at unprecedented levels. The smuggling benefits only a few, especially those in power. Could it be that gangsterism is a new framework to use in understanding power and accumulation in this current moment?

Is there a counter to these new and unprecedented forms of abuse of power? At the beginning of the year, I made a big bet on accountability as an important pillar in strengthening democracy (Murisa, 2025). Admittedly, the façade of ‘democracy’ has led many to think that we have tamed the leviathan called the state. Last year alone, a total of 15 African countries held elections. The results were a mixed bag. In some countries, we saw new political parties winning and, in some, the return of parties and leaders that have been in government before. But there is no tangible evidence so far that all these elections have led to better lives. Elites within and outside of the state have coalesced to diminish the redistribution capabilities of the state. Instead, it continues to serve a tiny minority.

The elections-dominated democracy paradigm has reduced citizens into voters without an adequate appreciation of what the current moment requires - a new form of active engagement with the state and, at times, confronting power using similar, if not more extreme, measures of resistance. There is a need for more on the part of citizens.

Lessons learnt from elsewhere suggest that effective governments are usually found in countries where there are active citizens in various public spaces. Effective governments, where they once existed, rarely governed alone; they did so in partnership with active citizens in various associational platforms.

The struggles of the past era may have led to the assumption that once colonial or apartheid authorities and even post-colonial authoritarian and military regimes have been removed, then democracy will resolve everything.

The continent has a rich history of struggle up until now. However, the current moment is ambiguous for several reasons: (i) many have been recruited around partisan agendas and will defend their political party even in instances of poor performance, (ii) organised civil society has weakened mobilisation by placing itself at the centre of agitations for change. Citizens have retreated from the public square under the impression that organised civil society has the wherewithal to confront governments and secure change, and (iii) many post-colonial governments have been brutally violent when confronted by dissenting citizens. There are notable levels of fatigue amongst citizens who have been engaged in decades-long protests and abuse of power.

We hold to the firm belief that for democracy to work as it should, citizens should be involved beyond just voting. The citizens must come together in various formal and informal associational and institutional platforms to demand performance from officeholders at both national and local levels.

We hold to the belief that those holding public office and power must be held to a higher standard of accountability.

Furthermore, the proposed accountability framework will most likely vastly improve the quality of our democracies across Africa. Only when officeholders are held accountable based on existing standards, frameworks and even commitments they make on their own shall we see improvements in how governments function and ensure effective delivery.

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