Beleaguered Opposition Politics in Southern Africa

Abstract

In many southern African countries, the incumbents have retained control of executive power since independence, while opposition parties fare poorly. Why have liberation movements-turned government tended to produce dominant party systems, despite multiparty elections? And, what accounts for this dynamic of beleaguered opposition politics? It is theorised that the historical influence of Marxism-Leninism and its ideas of the vanguard party, ‘democratic’ centralism, the use of violence and casting opposition as enemies of the state produces dominant party systems hostile to opposition. Using public survey data from Afrobarometer, a further cultural explanation is provided – a society distrustful of opposition. As citizens, eager for civil and political liberty, grow in their understanding of the importance of opposition politics, the region may yet see an expansion of competitive politics.