Changing of the guard? An anatomy of power within Swapo of Namibia

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‟.