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The institutionalisation of political parties in Malawi

Wikman, Björn LU (2012) STVK01 20112
Department of Political Science
Abstract (Swedish)
One important part of democratic consolidation is the institutionalisation of the
party system and parties as they are central in that process. Party system
institutionalisation in Africa has been a growing subject the last 20 years. In this
paper I will present my theory and my findings from interviews with 24
interviewees including politicians, journalists and academia in Malawi during
April and May in 2011. The findings will show a clear problematic
institutionalisation process. The five areas of research; ideology versus
personalisation, connection to other groups in society, intern democratic function,
funding, partisanship and coherence all show a systematic lack of
institutionalisation.
Central parts of issue are the... (More)
One important part of democratic consolidation is the institutionalisation of the
party system and parties as they are central in that process. Party system
institutionalisation in Africa has been a growing subject the last 20 years. In this
paper I will present my theory and my findings from interviews with 24
interviewees including politicians, journalists and academia in Malawi during
April and May in 2011. The findings will show a clear problematic
institutionalisation process. The five areas of research; ideology versus
personalisation, connection to other groups in society, intern democratic function,
funding, partisanship and coherence all show a systematic lack of
institutionalisation.
Central parts of issue are the neopatrimonial system, the misuse of parties as
personal properties and tools for power. There are no strong ideological bonds to
other groups in society, a lack of registered members and democratic primary
elections and a political culture holding on to the history of one-party rule are all
contributing factors to the Malawian party system we see today. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Wikman, Björn LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK01 20112
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Democratisation, Ideology, Institutionalisation, Parties, Malawi
language
English
id
2275531
date added to LUP
2012-02-14 21:01:01
date last changed
2012-02-14 21:01:01
@misc{2275531,
  abstract     = {{One important part of democratic consolidation is the institutionalisation of the
party system and parties as they are central in that process. Party system
institutionalisation in Africa has been a growing subject the last 20 years. In this
paper I will present my theory and my findings from interviews with 24
interviewees including politicians, journalists and academia in Malawi during
April and May in 2011. The findings will show a clear problematic
institutionalisation process. The five areas of research; ideology versus
personalisation, connection to other groups in society, intern democratic function,
funding, partisanship and coherence all show a systematic lack of
institutionalisation.
Central parts of issue are the neopatrimonial system, the misuse of parties as
personal properties and tools for power. There are no strong ideological bonds to
other groups in society, a lack of registered members and democratic primary
elections and a political culture holding on to the history of one-party rule are all
contributing factors to the Malawian party system we see today.}},
  author       = {{Wikman, Björn}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The institutionalisation of political parties in Malawi}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}