| Regardless of Guinea's economic potential, the country's poor implementation of democracy since the 1990s has weakened the Guinean state and hindered its socioeconomic growth. Through the Guinean sociological context, the purpose of this case study was to assess Hofstede's theory of how culture informs beliefs and practices that, in turn, regulate human responses in sociopolitical interactions. The study was grounded in social constructivism, which guided the 2 main research questions on (a) verifying the existence of varied leadership paradigms that uphold the 4 coexisting but distinct ethno-regional subcultures of Guinea and (b) assessing their probable combined constraints on democracy in Guinea. The purposive samples were equally drawn from members of the 4 ethnic regions; within each region, 8 interview respondents and 120 questionnaire participants provided data. The data were processed, coded, and iteratively analyzed to identify recurring categorical patterns on leadership. The trends that emerged confirmed that participants had varied views of leadership, which may contribute to the failure of democracy in Guinea. Considering the appropriateness of consociational democracy for culturally diversified societies, such a model is proposed to replace the French Presidential democracy style practiced in Guinea since 1992. If the multicultural adverse effects could be overcome through consociationalism, the implications for positive social change in Guinea include the potential for (a) a departure from its traditionally autocratic and nepotistic regimes, which would enhance human rights; (b) an increase in political stability, which would reduce conflict and unrest; and (c) an increase in socioeconomic development in the country, which could raise the standard of living for its population. |
