Populism in southern Africa under liberation movements as governments

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Authors

Melber, Henning

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Routledge

Abstract

Anti-colonial movements secured political power as governments in countries of Southern Africa. Populist discourses, which reinforce the patriotic history and heroic narratives of a ‘big men’ syndrome, are part of their political culture retaining continued legitimacy, not least in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, where national sovereignty was the result of a negotiated transfer of political power. This briefing presents a critical assessment of such populism as an integral part of the repertoire of former liberation movements as governments.

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Keywords

Populism, Southern Africa, Liberation movements, Governments

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Henning Melber (2018) Populism in Southern Africa under liberation movements as governments, Review of African Political Economy, 45:158, 678-686, DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2018.1500360.