(iPoster) Consensus: Theory and Evidence from an African Collective Choice Rule

• In Event: Poster Session: Democracy and Autocracy I

Abstract

A long tradition in anthropology and political theory highlights a distinctive mode of collective choice in many African societies: decision-making by consensus. This rule features open deliberation followed by agenda setting led by powerful individuals. Its aim is not unanimity but broad acquiescence and consent, understood as tacit yet universal agreement. Consensus thus contains elements of deliberative democracy alongside features closer to hierarchical decision-making. Building on arguments across the humanities and social sciences, I present underexplored cross-country evidence on preferences for consensus, documenting its endogenous origins in precolonial institutions and its correlation with collectivistic cultural traits. I also show that preference for consensus is associated with greater acceptance of autocratic regimes and rejection of multi-party competition, though not with rejection of democracy and elections, suggesting a distinctive understanding of democracy among African citizens. Finally, I argue that Western societies, too, have been driven by consensus, suggesting that today’s democratic institutions are historically exceptional rather than consensus being uniquely African.

Author

• Julio S. Solis Arce, Harvard University