Melber, Henning2019-05-212018Henning Melber (2018) Populism in Southern Africa under liberation movements as governments, Review of African Political Economy, 45:158, 678-686, DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2018.1500360.0305-6244 (print)1740-1720 (online)10.1080/03056244.2018.1500360http://hdl.handle.net/2263/69192Anti-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.en© 2018 ROAPE Publications Ltd. This is an electronic version of an article published in Review of African Political Economy, vol. 45, no. 158, pp. 678-686, 2018. doi : 10.1080/03056244.2018.1500360. Review of African Political Economy is available online at : http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/crea20.PopulismSouthern AfricaLiberation movementsGovernmentsPostprint Article