| Democracy's promises of political equality, communal peace, and economic prosperity were forsaken when Nigeria's fourth attempt at democratic governance in 1999 led to four years of acute religious, ethnic, and regional bloodshed.; To disclose the discursive dynamics underlying this tragedy, this dissertation employs the theoretical framework of Laclau and Mouffe and explores the discourse of democracy and its play across the north-south divide. It follows the discourse of democracy as articulated by the Clinton Administration which emptied democracy of political meaning while imbuing it with economic meaning and expectations. Thereafter this dissertation uses the Nigerian media to reveal how that discourse penetrated Nigeria's domestic arena and was received, interpreted, and expressed on Nigerian soil where it enabled a dangerous redefinition of domestic communal relations. Finally, Nigerians' voices, writings, and actions tie the discourse of democracy to the religious, ethnic, and regional conflicts that claimed 10,000 lives in the first four years (1999--2003) of the Fourth Republic. The dissertation focuses especially on the charged issue of Islamic law (Sharia) as is has been implemented and resisted all in the language of democracy.; To explore this discourse and its consequences, this dissertation engages in two activities. First, it deciphers how democracy had been articulated, communicated, and interpreted by engaging in the discourse analysis of the Clinton Administration's proclamations and policies, a reading of Nigeria's media, and observations the author conducted in Nigeria during the democratic transition. Second, it tracks the magnitude of communal violence across four years that span the transition and then focuses on specific cases of communal conflict to clarify the links wedding democracy to Nigeria's domestic communal violence. In sum, this dissertation discloses how the Clinton Administration's discourse and policies of democratic enlargement are linked to Nigeria's domestic communal violence. |
