Katanomics is a diagnostic framework for understanding why many African democracies (despite competitive elections, civic vibrancy, and constitutional guarantees) consistently fail to learn from policy mistakes. It examines how political narratives and policy implementation constantly drift apart, how civic knowledge collapses (undermining “national learning” in Africa), and why feedback loops essential for development break down.

The theory also maps the full chain of governance: Politics → Policy → Law → Constitutionalism. It then proceeds to explain how fractures along the chain create systems that perform the rituals of democratic accountability without achieving the substance of developmental progress.