Zambia: the myth and realities of 'one-party participatory democracy'

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Periodical article

Title:	Zambia: the myth and realities of 'one-party participatory democracy'
Author:	Phiri, Bizeck Jube
Year:	1991
Periodical:	Genève-Afrique: acta africana
Volume:	29
Issue:	2
Pages:	9-24
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Zambia
Subjects:	democracy one-party systems
Abstract:	British colonial rule in Zambia did not reflect liberal democracy. Colonialism was essentially 'bureaucratic authoritarianism' in which 'politics, especially opposition politics were barely tolerated'. At independence in 1964, democracy as a political process was still in its infancy, and susceptible to abuse. The author relates the political processes which led to the creation of the one-party State in December 1972, and the nature of the United National Independence Party's (UNIP) political orientation prior to independence, arguing that the emergence of the one-party State in independent Zambia is rooted in the nature of the colonial system, which anathematized democratic institutions. 'One-party participatory democracy' was UNIP's version of the democratization of political, economic and financial institutions, but it was no more than a mask for autocratic rule, and as an alternative form of democracy it proved futile. Finally, the author discusses the prospects of multiparty liberal democracy in Zambia, arguing that until there is democracy within the contending parties, and party leaders are elected democratically, the drive towards liberal democracy will remain a dream. Notes, ref., sum. in English and French.