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A Democracy of Chameleons

Author: Harri Englund

Publisher: Nordic Africa Institute

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9789171064998

After thirty years of autocratic rule under "Life President" Kamuzu Banda, Malawians experienced a transition to multi-party democracy in 1994. A new constitution and several democratic institutions promised a new dawn in a country ravaged by poverty and injustice. This book presents original research on the economic, social, political and cultural consequences of the new era. A new generation of scholars, most of them from Malawi, cover virtually every issue causing debate in the New Malawi: poverty and hunger, the plight of civil servants, the role of the judiciary, political intolerance and hate speech, popular music as a form of protest, clergy activism, voluntary associations and ethnic revival, responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and controversies over women's rights. Both chameleon-like leaders and the donors of Malawi's foreign aid come under critical scrutiny for supporting superficial democratization. The book ends with a rare public statement on the New Malawi by Jack Mapanje, Malawi'sinternationally acclaimed writer.

Democracy and Famine

Author: Olivier Rubin

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1136865411

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Famine is the most extreme manifestation of the existence of poverty, inequality and political apathy. Whereas poverty, hunger and diseases are not easily eradicated in the world today, famines are often perceived to be relatively simple to avert. However, the political incentives to prevent famines are not always present. Inspired by the work of Amartya Sen, whose influential hypothesis that democratic institutions together with a free press provide effective protection from famine, Democracy and Famine is a study combining qualitative and quantitative evidence, analysing the effect of democracy on famine prevention. The book’s overall framework moves from placing political systems at the heart of famine protection to look at the political processes involved. Using a case study based approach drawing on famines from India, Malawi and Niger; Democracy and Famine will be of interest to scholars and students of democracy, comparative politics and international relations.

Author:

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published:

Total Pages: 705

ISBN-13: 0198890184

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The Dance of Politics

Author: Lisa Gilman

Publisher: Temple University Press

Published: 2011-10-07

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1592139868

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Election campaigns, political events, and national celebration days in Malawi usually feature groups of women who dance and perform songs of praise for politicians and political parties. However, as Lisa Gilman explains, inThe Dance of Politics, "praise performing" is one of the few ways that poor women are allowed to participate in a male-dominated political system in which issues of gender, economics, and politics collide in surprising ways. Along with its solid grounding in the relevant literature,The Dance of Politicsdraws strength from Gilman's first-hand observations and her interviews with a range of participants in the political process, from dancers to politicians.

Pathways to Judicial Power in Transitional States

Author: Rachel Ellett

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-08-21

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1135965986

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This book examines the complex relationship that exists between the construction of judicial power, and the institutional characteristics of the courts and their regime setting. It examines the intriguing connection between the construction of judicial power on the one hand, and the institutional characteristics of the courts and regime setting on the other. The book asks whether courts are rendered powerful by virtue of their institutional characteristics or by a supportive, perhaps acquiescent, regime setting. By analyzing the historical pathways of courts in Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi, this book argues that the emergence of judicial power since the colonial period, though fraught with many challenges, presents a unique opportunity for consolidating democracy. The book examines in detail the significant political decisions of the upper-level courts in Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi from the colonial period to the present day, analyzing them in relation to changes in the political environment over time. Analysis of these decisions is also supplemented by in-depth interviews with judges, lawyers and other important stakeholders in the judicial processes. This book demonstrates that even in the most challenging regime environments, effective institutions and determined individuals can push back against interference and issue politically powerful, independent decisions but the way in which judiciaries respond to this regime pressure varies enormously across countries and regions.

Training for Model Citizenship

Author: Molly Sundberg

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-29

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 113758422X

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This book explores the state in post-genocide Rwanda through an ethnography of a state-run civic education program and everyday forms of government. In 2007, the Rwandan government introduced a nationwide civic education program, called Itorero, to teach all inhabitants about its vision of the model Rwandan citizen. Since then, this ideal has been pursued through remote training camps, village assemblies, and daily government practices. Based on ethnographic research of the life and workings of Itorero camps and the day-to-day administration of a local neighborhood in Kigali, this book investigates how such a pursuit has come to affect Rwandans’ relation to the state and what it may tell us about modern forms of authoritarian rule.

Chameleons

Author: Arthur Gerringer

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2001-10

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 0595201466

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In August of 1969 the Author swore an oath to defend the Constitution and Laws of the United States. Words like duty, honor and country rang in his ears. Yet, after thirty years in Law Enforcement, the ardor to perform the duties and the idealism have been diminished. Beaten, chastised, sued and defamed, the Author still believes in right and wrong, but reality of society dictates that corruption, lies, unethical conduct and professional malaise are more powerful than courage, character and integrity. Take a look inside the ranks of all levels of agencies and society and decide for yourself, Where Has The Honor Gone.

Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi

Author: Dan Banik

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-06-10

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1317407539

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Malawi is among the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa that has witnessed significant improvements in relation to meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. It exhibits some of the main challenges facing African democracies while they attempt to consolidate the benefits of democratisation. Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi critically analyses opportunities and constraints related to the impact of democracy on development in one of the world’s poorest countries. The book explores how, and to what extent, processes related to democratic and economic governance can be strengthened in order to make political and administrative authorities more responsive to development needs. It also considers characteristics of successful implementation of public policy and the effective and timely delivery of basic services in local contexts; increased citizen participation and dialogue with local government authorities; factors that enable civil society organisations to hold political and administrative officials to account; and better utilisation of academic research for improved evidence-based policy formulation and implementation. This volume will be of great interest to scholars in development studies, African studies, politics, law and anthropology, as well as policymakers and those interested in democracy, governance, human rights and the implementation of anti-poverty programmes, development administration and decentralisation.

Promises, Power, Politics and Poverty

Author:

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2024-05-03

Total Pages: 606

ISBN-13: 9996076296

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Dr. Banda's thirty-year rule was the subject of Lwanda's earlier book Kamuzu Banda of Malawi: a Study in Promise, Power and Paralysis, the first edition of which was in 1993. Now the small Southern African nation of Malawi has been a multiparty democracy since the first multiparty elections on 17 May 1994. The first multiparty dispensation, under the United Democratic Front's President Bakili Muluzi, experienced both startling successes and fantastic failures. Since then, the paralysing poverty has persisted, yet the once silent land is resonating with freedom of speech, free universal primary school education, an independent judiciary... The first incarnation of this book was written in 1996, three years before the elections of 1999. At the time, some of the critical political questions then were: Could the UDF begin delivering on their pledges on poverty alleviation and development? Was the MCP capable of genuinely reforming itself? Could AFORD survive? Could democracy itself survive in Malawi? Could a new cadre of leadership emerge; one that was both unencumbered by the Banda legacy and which spoke for both rich and poor, rural and urban? These are some of the issues discussed in Promises, Power, Politics and Poverty the Democratic Transition in Malawi. This book is still, by far, the most detailed account of the political transition of 1991 to 1994, containing details of the origins of the UDF and AFORD, and charting the rise and fall of the Diaspora-based political parties. It also critically examined the performance of the new government up to 1996. It is an essential comprehensive reading for all those interested in the turbulent politics of Malawi, from 1961 to the present. It has dozens of illuminative pictures and anecdotes. "Lwanda is the kind of writer who wants to put everything in..." Landeg White, (Emeritus Director, Centre for Southern African Studies, York University). "He writes with deep knowledge, commendable compassion, and often remarkable analytical insight. This analysis of a complex political situation in Malawi since the defeat of Dr. Banda deserves to be considered very carefully by anyone who has the future of Africa, especially central Africa, at questions at heart" (Professor George Shepperson).