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The Slow Decay of Southern Africa's Dominant-Party Regimes
Der langsame Niedergang der Dominant-Party Regimes im Südlichen Afrika
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies - Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien, Institut für Afrika-Studien
Abstract The successful national liberation movements of southern Africa have become dominant-party regimes. However, many now face a series of political and economic crises that have the potential to put the region's stability at risk. Dominant-party regimes in southern Africa base their legitimacy on liber... view more
The successful national liberation movements of southern Africa have become dominant-party regimes. However, many now face a series of political and economic crises that have the potential to put the region's stability at risk. Dominant-party regimes in southern Africa base their legitimacy on liberating the nation from colonialism and being an expression of the people's will. However, they preside over an exclusionary social order. The promotion of formal measures of democratisation which focus on periodic elections, formal constitutions, and the existence of opposition parties have had limited success in loosening the political stranglehold of dominant parties. In fact, the adoption of such formal measures has given dominant parties a measure of international legitimacy, to varying degrees, while many of these nominally democratic regimes are restricting the expression of dissent, closing spaces for opposition, and clinging to power by constitutional amendments or popular referenda of questionable democratic credentials. The promotion of economic liberalisation measures - such as creating a "business friendly" environment and courting foreign direct investment (FDI) - especially for the extractive sector and its associated infrastructure, has not provided growth in ways perceived by many to be socially just. Instead, it has tended to concentrate wealth in relatively narrow ruling circles, bolstering the power of ruling parties while contributing to growing social polarisation. Many of the social crises facing dominant-party regimes in southern Africa are based on complex issues of distributional justice and inclusion, which are rooted in their particular social contexts. Foreign partners and donors should focus less on promoting formal measures of democratisation and economic liberalisation, which can be counterproductive, and instead promote more inclusive social and economic programmes, such as universal basic income.... view less
Keywords
Southern Africa; political leadership; party system; party in power; political power; democratization; democracy; liberalization; social justice; political domination; legitimation
Classification
Political System, Constitution, Government
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Politische Partei; Verhältnis Partei - Staat
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
City
Hamburg
Page/Pages
12 p.
Series
GIGA Focus Afrika, 8
ISSN
1862-3603
Status
Published Version; reviewed