Nouveaux Acteurs Sociaux, Permanence et Renouvellement du Clientélisme Politique en Afrique Sub-saharienne New social actors, continuity and renewal of political clientelism in Sub-Saharan Africa

O objecto de análise deste artigo s o as dinamicas e reconfigura es do clientelismo político, um dos tra os centrais do funcionamento dos sistemas políticos africanos. As recomposi es e adapta es dos sistemas políticos africanos na fase das transi es para as democracias multipartidárias, em áfrica, face às crises políticas, sociais e económicas e o surgimento subsequente de novos actores sociais nas estruturas de poder (político) africanas s o o centro de análise deste texto. O artigo sustenta que a democracia e o multipartidarismo n o contribuíram para a erradica o ou mitiga o das práticas clien-telares. O máximo que se conseguiu, até ao momento, foi a cria o de condi es para a renegocia o destas mesmas rela es clientelares. The object of this article is to examine the dynamics and reconfigurations of political clientelism, one of the major characteristics of African political systems. The analysis focuses on the restructuring and adapting of African political systems during the tran-sitional phase to multi-party democracies in reaction to the political, social and economic crises and the subsequent emergence of new social actors in the African (political) power structures. The article argues that democracy and multipartyism have not contributed to eradicate or mitigate clientelist practices and that most achieved, until now, has been the creation of conditions that favor the renegotiation of clientelist relationships.