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Investigating the links between political settlements and inclusive development in Uganda: towards a research agenda

Author

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  • Frederick Golooba-Mutebi
  • Sam Hickey

Abstract

The changing character of the political settlement in Uganda since independence has closely shaped the character and performance of the institutions and actors responsible for delivering development. Successive political leaders sought to establish 'dominant ruler' forms of political settlement, with little sustained effort to depersonalise public institutions or build stable and inclusive ruling coalitions. This seemed to change in 1986, as Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) sought to establish a new settlement, based on a broad-based coalition and an ostensible commitment to development. However, the NRM's record of generating the commitment and capacity required to deliver development has been mixed. On the one hand, a mixture of elite commitment, pockets of bureaucratic excellence and external support has enabled impressive levels of economic growth, macroeconomic stability and social expenditure. However, the current settlement – characterised by deepening levels of competitive clientelism, highly personalised forms of public bureaucracy, collusive state–business relations, and a ruling coalition that is (expensively) inclusive at the lower levels while becoming narrower and more nepotistic at the pinnacle – has failed to provide the basis for tackling the more difficult challenges of achieving structural transformation, delivering high-quality public services and challenging social inequalities. The case of Uganda reveals the need to extend the current boundaries of political settlement analysis beyond a narrow focus on incentives at the national level, to incorporate a stronger focus on ideas and transnational factors. Dominant ideas around state legitimacy and development have played an important role in shaping governance and development in Uganda, and this has often involved a role for the shifting sets of transnational actors on which the regime relies to maintain itself in power. This paper includes suggestions for further research on the politics of development in Uganda, including around the extent to which the discovery of oil will both be shaped by and help reshape the political settlement.

Suggested Citation

  • Frederick Golooba-Mutebi & Sam Hickey, 2013. "Investigating the links between political settlements and inclusive development in Uganda: towards a research agenda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-020-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:esid-020-13
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ricardo Hausmann & Brad Cunningham & John Matovu & Rosie Osire & Kelly Wyett, 2014. "How should Uganda grow?," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-030-14, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Bukenya, Badru & Golooba-Mutebi, Frederick, 2020. "What explains sub-national variation in maternal mortality rates within developing countries? A political economy explanation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    3. Simplice A. Asongu & Gerald Emmanuel Arhin & Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai & Justice Bawole, 2022. "The Political Economy of the Oil and Gas Sector in Emerging and Developing Countries," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 22/029, African Governance and Development Institute..
    4. Sam Hickey & Badru Bukenya, 2016. "The politics of promoting social cash transfers in Uganda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-069-16, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    5. Sam Hickey & Badru Bukenya, 2016. "The politics of promoting social cash transfers in Uganda," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-118, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Josephine Ahikire & Amon A. Mwiine, 2015. "The politics of promoting gender equity in contemporary Uganda: Cases of the Domestic Violence Law and the policy on Universal Primary Education," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-055-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    7. repec:ilo:ilowps:487627 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Sam Hickey & Badru Bukenya & Angelo Izama & William Kizito, 2015. "The political settlement and oil in Uganda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-048-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    9. Sophie King & Peter Kasaija, 2018. "State-movement partnership in Uganda: Co-producing an enabling environment for urban poverty reduction?," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-098-18, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    10. KjÆr, Anne Mette, 2015. "Political Settlements and Productive Sector Policies: Understanding Sector Differences in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 230-241.
    11. Pablo Yanguas, 2017. "Varieties of state-building in Africa: Elites, ideas and the politics of public sector reform," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-089-17, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    12. Sam Hickey & Badru Bukenya, 2016. "The politics of promoting social cash transfers in Uganda," WIDER Working Paper Series 118, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Tom Lavers & Sam Hickey, 2015. "Investigating the political economy of social protection expansion in Africa: At the intersection of transnational ideas and domestic politics," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-047-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    14. Sophie King & Sam Hickey, 2015. "Beyond elite bargains: building democracy from below in Uganda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-045-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    15. Badru Bukenya & William Muhumuza, 2017. "The politics of core public sector reform in Uganda: Behind the facade," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-085-17, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    16. Anne Mette Kjaer & Nansozi K. Muwanga, 2016. "Inclusion as political mobilisation: The political economy of quality education initiatives in Uganda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-065-16, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    17. Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, 2013. "Politics, political settlements and social change in post-colonial Rwanda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-024-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    18. Sam Hickey & Badru Bukenya, 2021. "The politics of promoting social cash transfers in Uganda: The potential and pitfalls of “thinking and working politically”," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(S1), pages 1-20, August.
    19. Sam Hickey & Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai & Angelo Izama & Giles Mohan, 2015. "The politics of governing oil effectively: A comparative study of two new oil-rich states in Africa," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-054-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    20. Badru Bukenya & Sam Hickey, 2019. "The shifting fortunes of the economic technocracy in Uganda: Caught between state-building and regime survival?," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-121-19, GDI, The University of Manchester.

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