Post-liberation democratic authoritarianism : the case of Namibia

Abstract

Namibia is praised as one of the most laudable democratic societies in Sub-Saharan Africa. But it also displays strong tendencies of autocratic political rule and intolerance with regard to views dissenting from the official ‘patriotic history’ under the former liberation movement, the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO of Namibia), since Independence transformed into SWAPO Party. This article summarises and seeks to explain the underlying social currents for this situation. By doing so, it also illustrates that a formally intact democratic system does neither produce a fully democratic political culture—nor democrats, for that matter. A truly democratic breakthrough for a pluralist society based on mutual respect despite different political opinions seems, under the given circumstances of the Namibian society, an unlikely development in the near future, notwithstanding the good marks the political system receives in international rankings for African democracies.