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Populist Strategies in African Democracies

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  • Danielle Resnick

Abstract

Drawing on insights from Latin America, this paper examines the factors that contributed to the use of populist strategies by political parties during recent presidential elections in Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. Specifically, the paper argues that the nature of party competition in Africa, combined with rapid urbanization and informalization of the labour force, provided a niche for populist leaders to espouse a message relevant to the region's growing urban poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Danielle Resnick, 2010. "Populist Strategies in African Democracies," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2010-114, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2010-114
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2010-114.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. World Bank, 2007. "Zambia : Poverty and Vulnerabiltiy Assessment," World Bank Publications - Reports 7863, The World Bank Group.
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    4. Govereh, Jones & Malawo, Emma & Lungu, Tadeyo & Jayne, Thomas S. & Chinyama, Kasweka & Chilonda, Pius, 2009. "Trends and Spatial Distribution of Public Agricultural Spending in Zambia: Implication for Agricultural Productivity Growth," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 54497, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    5. Robert Pollin & Mwangi we Githinji & James Heintz, 2007. "Wage Cutting in Kenya Will Expand Poverty, Not Decent Jobs," One Pager 46, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
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    7. Carolyn Bassett & Marlea Clarke, 2008. "The Zuma Affair, Labour and the Future of Democracy in South Africa," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 787-803.
    8. Moore, Mick, 1997. "Leading the left to the right: Populist coalitions and economic reform," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 1009-1028, July.
    9. John French, 2009. "Understanding the Politics of Latin America's Plural Lefts (Chávez/Lula): social democracy, populism and convergence on the path to a post-neoliberal world," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 349-370.
    10. Gillian Hart, 2007. "Changing Concepts of Articulation: Political Stakes in South Africa Today," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(111), pages 85-101, March.
    11. Nicos Mouzelis, 1985. "On the Concept of Populism: Populist and Clientelist Modes of Incorporation in Semiperipheral Polities," Politics & Society, , vol. 14(3), pages 329-348, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Omondi Denin Ominah, 2023. "The Mirage of Issue-Based Politics in Africa. A Case Study of Kenya’s Presidential Election Campaigns from 2013-2022," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(10), pages 2444-2463, October.

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