Abstract
Chapter 3 assessed the contribution made by political parties to the achievement of independence. In this chapter I examine first the role that political parties have played from independence to the early 1990s and, at the risk of repeating some of the points made in the Introduction, I begin by examining certain political patterns which took shape during this period. Then, towards the end of the chapter, I look again at the recent reaction by a majority of black African states against one-party rule and military authoritarianism and ask what effect the movement towards political pluralism has had, or is likely to have, on the roles which political parties have played since independence.
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Further Reading
Bienen, H., ‘One-Party Systems in Africa’, in Huntington, S. P. and Moore, C. H. (eds), Authoritarian Politics in Modern Society (New York: Basic Books, 1970).
Cartwright, J. R., Politics in Sierra Leone, 1947–67 (University of Toronto Press, 1970).
Dunn, J. (ed.), West African States: Failure and Promise. A Study in Comparative Politics (Cambridge University Press, 1978).
Gertzel, C. (ed.), Baylies, C. and Szeftel, M., The Dynamics of the One-Party State in Zambia (Manchester University Press, 1984).
Leys, C. and Hyden, G., ‘Elections and Politics in Single-Party Systems: the Case of Kenya and Tanzania’, British Journal of Political Science, vol. 1, no. 2 (1972).
O’Brien, Cruise D. B., Dunn, J. and Rathbone, R (eds), Contemporary West African States (Cambridge University Press, 1989).
Pratt, C., The Critical Phase in Tanzania, 1945–68. Nyerere and the Emergence of a Socialist Strategy (Cambridge University Press, 1976).
Randall, V. (ed.), Political Parties in the Third World (London: Sage, 1988) which contains chapters on Ghana and Zambia.
Rosberg, C. G. and Callaghy, T. M. (eds), Socialism in Sub-Saharan Africa: A New Assessment (Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, University of California, 1979).
The Election Study Committee, University of Dar es Salaam, Socialism and Participation. Tanzania’s 1970 National Elections (Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House, 1974).
Weiss, H. F., Political Protest in the Congo: The Parti Solidaire Africain during the Independence Struggle (Princeton University Press, 1967).
Zolberg, A.R., Creating Political Order: The Party-States of West Africa (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1966).
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© 1993 William Tordoff
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Tordoff, W. (1993). Political Parties. In: Government and Politics in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22342-8_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22342-8_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-57709-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-22342-8
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