Communication · Executive Insight Brief · 152
Consensus without the right to refuse
Consensus seeking earns legitimacy only when disagreement remains visible protected and consequential
Premise
Voting produces a decision, but it may leave the losing side with no meaningful reflection of its interests. Palaver and consensus offer a different lens for public communication: keep conflict in speech long enough to expose grievances, test reasons, and search for accommodation. Uchenna Okeja treats these African traditions as metaphors for the public sphere, not as a ready-made constitution.
The lineage combines distinct projects. Ernest Wamba dia Wamba connected communalist palaver and popular assembly with the resolution of contradictions. Kwasi Wiredu used Akan political thought to question majority rule and develop consensus through compromise. Okeja brought both into public-sphere theory. Emmanuel Eze’s critique remains essential because agreement can be imposed by central authority.
What the model is: Palaver and Consensus as Metaphors for the African Public Sphere in Knowledge →
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- Risks and limits
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- FamilyModel
- CategoryDoctrines, Principles & Normative Frameworks
- DomainGroups & Decisions
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Family
Model
In this series, Model names the editorial family primarily used to understand and explain communication: theories, frameworks, effects, traditions, principles and other conceptual resources. It is an umbrella for a route into the field, not a claim that every included object is a predictive model.
Editorial orientation · Category
Doctrines, Principles & Normative Frameworks
Sets out principles or criteria for what should be pursued, considered legitimate or done. Its contribution is evaluative or prescriptive: it gives reasons for judging conduct and arrangements, rather than merely describing their frequency.
- KnowledgePalaver and Consensus as Metaphors for the African Public Sphere
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