Party Cohesion and Fractionalization in New African Democracies: Lessons from Struggles over Third-term Amendments

The recent experiences of ruling parties in Malawi, Zambia, and Namibia provide a unique opportunity to investigate the factors shaping internal party dynamics in new African democracies. Between 1997 and 2003, sitting executives in these countries attempted to amend constitutions so that they could run for third presidential terms. Within that specific context, ruling parties exhibited different tendencies. Whereas the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) in Namibia held together, ruling parties in Malawi and Zambia fractionalized to varying degrees. This article examines why these ruling parties displayed such varying patterns while the executives attempted to extend their holds on power. Adopting an actor-centered approach to studying internal party politics, the article suggests that four different types of factors can shape party propensities toward coherence or fractionalization: exogenous institutional structures, internal distributions of resources, internal habits of dissent and unity, and external political opportunity structures. Examining the experiences of the ruling parties in light of these factors effectively shows the reasons for their different trajectories and suggests the utility of this approach for future work on similar dynamics in other contexts. Peter VonDoepp is assistant professor of political science at the University of Vermont. His work has appeared inStudies in Comparative International Development, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, The Political Science Quarterly and several edited volumes. He is currently working on a project comparing judiciaries in new African democracies. An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 27–August 31, in Philadelphia. The author wishes to thank Regina Boma, Nixon Khembo, Brian Calfano, and Martin Willhoite for research assistance. The author also acknowledges valuable commentary on earlier drafts provided by Nixon Khembo, David Mason, Alex Tan, Eve Sandberg, Irving Leonard Markovitz, Alfred Chanda, and Paul kaiser. All errors of fact or interpretation remain the author's.