Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2002): African Sociological Review

4 - Monopoly Politikos : How Botswana's opposition Parties have helped sustain One-Party Dominance

https://doi.org/10.4314/asr.v6i1.23203
Onalenna Doo Selolwane
Department of Sociology University of Botswana Private Bag UB 00705 Gaborone Botswana

African Sociological Review, Vol. 6 No. 1 (2002): African Sociological Review

Abstract

The main thesis of this paper is that Botswana 's opposition parties are accountable for their failure to provide the voting public with a meaning­ ful alternative to the ruling Botswana Democratic Party. While conced­ ing the explanatory importance of other factors such as resource capacity, this paper departs from conventional wisdom by focusing on the strategic and ideological
weaknesses of the opposition parties. It argues that the opposition parties made a number of strategic errors which ren­ dered them electorally unattractive before they could establish their legitimacy as contenders for government power. To break the monopoly of power that the ruling party has so far enjoyed, Botswana 's opposition must transform itself into a meaningful competitor and govern­ ment-in-waiting. To do that they must (a) demonstrate that they have a viable, alternative economic management strategy to better satisfy the interests of a diverse voting public and (b) develop broad based political strategies targeting the diverse voting public to build voter confidence in the capability of the party as a possible government. The ruling party's track record of four decades of sustained economic growth leaves a for­ midable challenge to the opposition.

Keywords

Monopoly Politikos opposition Parties One-Party Dominance Botswana
Onalenna Doo Selolwane. (2002). 4 - Monopoly Politikos : How Botswana’s opposition Parties have helped sustain One-Party Dominance. African Sociological Review, 6(1), 68–90. https://doi.org/10.4314/asr.v6i1.23203
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Abdi, B.A. 1973. 'Scientific Socialism and the Somali Revolution'. African Commu­ nist no 55 pp99-108.
  2. Bratton, M. and N. de Walle. 1997. Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transi­tions in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
  3. Charlton, R. 1993. 'The Politics of Elections in Botswana'. Africa vol 63 no. 3 pp 330-370.
  4. Cohen, D.L. 1976. 'The Botswana Political Elite: evidence from the 1974 General Election'. Journal of Southern African Affairs vol 4 no. 3 pp347-371.
  5. Cupeper, R., A. Berry and F. Stewart (eds). 1997. Global Development Fifty Years Afler Bretton Woods. Basingstoke and London. Macmillan Press; New York: St Martin's Press; Ottawa. The North-South Institute.
  6. Danevand A. 1995. 'Responsiveness in Botswana politics: do elections matter?' Jour­nal of Modern African Studies vol 33 no.3 pp381-402.
  7. Daniel, J., R. Southall, and M. Szeftel. 1999. Votingfor Democracy: Watershed Elec­tions in Contemporary Anglophone Africa. Aldershot, Hampshire, England; Brookfield, Vt.: Ashgate.
  8. Du Toit, P. 1995. State Building and Democracy in Southern Africa: Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Pretoria. Human Sciences Research Council.
  9. Hermans, H.C.L. 1988. 'Foreign Investment - Its Role, Opportunities and Con­ straints'. In Govemment of Botswana and UNDP, The national Conference on strategies for Private sector Development. Francistown. Govemment Printer.
  10. Holm J. 1987. 'Elections in Botswana: Institutinalization ofa New System ofLegiti­ macy'. In Fred M Hayward (ed) Elections in Jndependent Africa. Boulder, Colo. Westview Press.
  11. Holm, J.D. 1988. 'Botswana: A Patemalistic Democracy'. in L. Diamond et al (eds)Democracy in Africa. Boulder, Col. Lynne Rienner; London: Adamantine Press.
  12. Hyden G. and M. Bratton. 1992. Governance and Politics in Africa. Boulder, Col and London: Lynne Rienner.
  13. Jowitt, K. 1979. 'Scientific Socialist Regimes in Africa: Political Differentiation, Avoidance and Unawareness', in C.G. Rosberg and T.M. Callaghy (eds) Socialism in Sub-Saharan Africa: A New Assessment. Berkeley. Institute of International Studies, University of Califomia.
  14. Kader, M.A. 1985. Africa 's Guide to Scientific Socialism. Harare. Nehanda Publishers.
  15. Lewis, S. R. jr. 'Policy making and economic performance: Botswana in Comparative Perspective', in S J Stedman, (ed) Botswana: The Political Economy of Democratic Development. Boulder, Col. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
  16. Masan, M. 1997. Development and Disorder: A History of the Third World since 1945. Hanover and London. University Press of New England.Maundeni, Z. 1998. 'The Struggle for Political Freedom and Independence', in W. Edge and M. Lekorwe (eds), Botswana Politics and Society. Pretoria. JL van Schaik.
Read More

Author Biography

Onalenna Doo Selolwane, Department of Sociology University of Botswana Private Bag UB 00705 Gaborone Botswana

Dr. Onalenna Selolwane is Executive Committee Member of Mosadi Khumo, an organization committed to women’s inclusion in Botswana in the context of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. She is also a member of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP). She is former Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Sociology, University of Botswana. She was a consultant for the Botswana National Framework for Sustainable Development and African Union’s Africa Agenda 2063. Dr. Selolwane was one of the editors of the African Sociological Review and has published extensively in areas of governance, electoral politics, agrarian studies, urban economies, ethnicity, gender, poverty and development policy analysis. She served on the Executive Committee of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), was founder and President of the Emang Basadi Women’s Association and has served as consultant in the development of government policies and programmes for women, youth, rural development, agriculture, poverty reduction and crime prevention. Dr. Selolwane holds a master’s degree in development studies from the University of Sussex and a doctorate degree in development studies from the University of East Anglia.

Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 793 Download : 47