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Democratization and Competitive Authoritarianism in Africa pp 155–172Cite as

Competitive authoritarianism in Uganda: the not so hidden hand of the military

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Abstract

This paper draws on the notion of “coercive power” as developed by Levitsky and Way (Competitive authoritarianism: hybrid regimes after the cold war, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010) to argue that the incumbent regime in Uganda, the National Resistance Movement under President Yoweri Museveni, offers a particularly interesting case of competitive authoritarianism. Using empirical data, the paper extends Levitsky and Way’s scope of analysis to include contemporary Uganda, which has vital characteristics of both democracy and authoritarianism. The paper provides a fresh insight into the hitherto lesser-analyzed “trinitarian” interplay whereby President Museveni, the military and the ruling party essentially function as one and the same. The paper singles out the incumbent regime’s coercive capacity as the most instrumental factor that explains its continued stability. Subsequently, the paper elucidates the symbiotic coercive strategies that are applied to systematically resist opposition challenges.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Intercultural and International Studies, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Jude Kagoro

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  1. Jude Kagoro
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Matthijs Bogaards Sebastian Elischer

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Kagoro, J. (2016). Competitive authoritarianism in Uganda: the not so hidden hand of the military. In: Bogaards, M., Elischer, S. (eds) Democratization and Competitive Authoritarianism in Africa. Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft – Sonderhefte. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-09216-0_9

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