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Populist Strategies in African Democracies

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  • Danielle Resnick

Abstract

Drawing on insights from Latin America, this paper examines the factors that contributed to the use of populist strategies by political parties during recent presidential elections in Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. Specifically, the paper argues that the nature of party competition in Africa, combined with rapid urbanization and informalization of the labour force, provided a niche for populist leaders to espouse a message relevant to the region's growing urban poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Danielle Resnick, 2010. "Populist Strategies in African Democracies," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2010-114, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2010-114
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2010-114.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Govereh, Jones & Malawo, Emma & Lungu, Tadeyo & Jayne, Thomas S. & Chinyama, Kasweka & Chilonda, Pius, 2009. "Trends and Spatial Distribution of Public Agricultural Spending in Zambia: Implication for Agricultural Productivity Growth," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 54497, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
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    12. John French, 2009. "Understanding the Politics of Latin America's Plural Lefts (Chávez/Lula): social democracy, populism and convergence on the path to a post-neoliberal world," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 349-370.
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    Cited by:

    1. Omondi Denin Ominah, 2023. "The Mirage of Issue-Based Politics in Africa. A Case Study of Kenya’s Presidential Election Campaigns from 2013-2022," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(10), pages 2444-2463, October.

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