Abstract:
This article presents an anatomy of power relations and policy making within the ranks of the
former liberation movement SWAPO in Namibia. It summarizes the features of Namibia‟s
dominant party state and argues that Namibia is a case of competitive authoritarian rule. Our
analysis documents how the first generation of SWAPO activists, in exile since the early 1960s,
has since independence in 1990 remained the most influential segment of the former anticolonial
movement. This continuity is personified in the country‟s third president Hage
Geingob and parts of his team in cabinet. Despite some gradual and increasingly visible shifts
in the composition of SWAPO MPs, the party‟s first generation has so far remained largely in
control over the country‟s political affairs. Analysing the background of the ministers serving
since independence also shows, that a second generation of SWAPO activists in exile since the
mid-1970s gradually expanded influence and took over leading positions. Given the dominance
of SWAPO and the lack of any meaningful political opposition, a new leadership depends on
upward inner-party mobility. Given the limited scope for a younger generation to move into
higher offices, the strengthening of democracy through new leadership and innovative thinking
is very limited. Rather, politics tends to be reproduced through established networks and bonds
with a low degree of permissiveness, which reinforces the nature of the competitive
authoritarian regime under the control of „old men‟.
