Opposition party institutionalisation in authoritarian settings: the case of Uganda

Abstract

This article analyses the process of institutionalisation among Ugandan opposition parties and highlights the tensions at play between party institutionalisation and broader party goals in authoritarian settings. Based upon qualitative research conducted between 2016 and 2023, we offer a historical analysis of the steps towards institutionalisation–understood as a process, rather than a state–taken by two Ugandan parties: the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and the Democratic Party (DP). Uganda features historical parties such as the DP that were severely weakened by the ‘Movement era’ but endured despite losing ground, and newer opposition forces, such as the FDC, that proved relatively stronger despite being divided over the question of building party structures, thus providing an interesting case study. Ultimately, this article demonstrates the complex, and at times conflicting, implications of institutionalisation for opposition parties’ ability to achieve their objectives in an authoritarian regime.