The State, Democracy, and Development in Southern Africa

Matlosa, Khabele

doi:10.1080/02604020701404133

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This makes political parties to become spheres of influence for political leaders who use patronage and or sentiments to garner people around them. While noting the popularity of multiparty democracy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region since the 1990s, Matlosa (2004) observed that key institutions of democracy such as political parties, in spite of allowing some modicum of intra party democracy, still lag behind in terms of entrenching and institutionalising democracy within their own internal operations. The Netherland Institute for Multiparty Democracy, NIMD (2004) has put forward four guides by which we can assess the extent of internal party democracy.…”

Section: E Institutionalization Of Democratic Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, internal party politics in Africa is characterised by imposition of unpopular candidates on the electorate, internal squabbles, tacit animosity, political vagrancy and political tension in the body polity. The overall consequence of this scenario is a declining trust of citizens in political parties as Matlosa (2007) graphically illustrates in the case of South Africa. According to him, only 32% of citizens covered in his study trusted the ruling party while 60% do not have trust in them.…”

Section: E Institutionalization Of Democratic Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Overview of Democratic Consolidation and Regression in Africa

Muhammad,

Fanny-Kinge

2024

HJIRS

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Democratic rule in Africa has been characterized by uneasiness resulting from autocratic tendencies in some of the countries. From the 1990s and due to a host of factors, African countries began to experience new lease of democratization with high hopes which soon turned out to be an illusion arising from series of developments within and outside the continent. Against this background, this paper examines dimensions of democratic rule in Africa noting its tendencies towards consolidation and regression as it manifests in different countries as well as factors that are responsible for the observed trend. Data for the study is obtained from secondary sources through examination of copious literature on the subject and examining occurrences in different parts of the continent. It is concluded that the region experienced overall, though uneven and not substantial progress towards democratization. While some have experienced tendency towards backsliding, some others have experienced considerable growth in some of the indexes that promote democratic consolidation. On the aggregate however, the continent cannot be said to be making substantial progress towards consolidation. This may be due to a host of factors that include peculiar political environment of each country. It thus recommended that African leaders need to introduce reforms that would cut across the different facets of the continent and that will take into account the specific character of each African country rather than the adoption of a policy based on its success in a different socio-political environment.

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Section: E Institutionalization Of Democratic Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: E Institutionalization Of Democratic Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of Democratic Consolidation and Regression in Africa

Muhammad,

Fanny-Kinge

2024

HJIRS

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“…While Africa was contending with the neoliberal idea of the lean and mean state, East Asians built strong states capable of intervening in the economy to advance development outcomes. Crucial in the debate is that because it was said that society needed the state to play a central role in ensuring equitable and inclusive economic development, the capacity, character and conduct of the state became an important consideration (Matlosa 2007). The capacity to plan economic development in both long and short horizons entailed developing development plans to guide the building of a prosperous (Edigheji 2010;Mkandawire 1999).…”

Section: The Shrinking Statementioning

confidence: 99%

Covid-19 and the Return of the State in Africa

Zondi

2021

Politikon

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As African countries battled the Covid-19 crisis in 2020, one of the questions that were raised was whether the state was taking a central stage in the affairs of society, especially solutions to major problems. The question was triggered by the fact that there has been a decline in the capacity, role and prestige of the state in Africa for decades. Yet it seems that the responses to Covid-19, following the WHO guidelines, have placed the state at the centre, without dislocating other stakeholders like the private sector and the civil society. This paper uses the evidence from a select number of African countries of different sizes in various regions of the continent to provide an empirical perspective on the role of the state in Covid-19 responses in 2020 to answer the question of whether Covid-19 has occasioned a return of the state, thus reversing the neoliberal designs in favour of a lean and mean state in Africa.

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“…It has been argued that democracy requires development if it is to be relevant to the daily livelihoods of the people. 36 Conversely, development without democracy is unsustainable.…”

Section: Understanding Why State Political Parties Monopolise Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenge of Building Strong Political Parties for Democratic Governance in Uganda: Does multiparty politics have a future?

Makara¹

2009

eastafrica

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The State, Democracy, and Development in Southern Africa

Cited by 7 publications

References 10 publications

An Overview of Democratic Consolidation and Regression in Africa

An Overview of Democratic Consolidation and Regression in Africa

Covid-19 and the Return of the State in Africa

The Challenge of Building Strong Political Parties for Democratic Governance in Uganda: Does multiparty politics have a future?

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