Theoretical Postulation of National Integration and the Roles of Political Parties: A Reflection on African and Asian Countries

This paper evaluates the quest for national integration by countries in Asia and Africa. It also reflects on political parties, theories of national integration and its implications for resource competition. The chapter revealed that most African and Asian countries bought into the concept of democracy and political parties as a viable instrument for political cohesion and development. The chapter revealed that democratic ideals have been utilized at expense of these two continents’ (Asian and African) cultural beliefs, which affected development in their environments. Most of these theories of democracy that were adopted in many African and Asian states were in conformity with European and Western thoughts and against the natural beliefs of the African and Asian societies. For instance, democratic governance forcefully takes communal land and hands it over to a political sovereign by force thereby leading to conflicts. However, the chapter recommends that the path for national integration should be defined within multidimensional theories that will appropriate the African and Asian beliefs, traditional culture and be sensitive to her environmental configurations.