Uganda’s ruling coalition and the 2021 elections: change, continuity and contestation

Moses Khisa

Journal of Eastern African Studies, 2023, vol. 17, issue 1-2, 325-343

Abstract: Since coming to power, President Museveni has consistently stitched together disparate actors and representatives of divergent constituencies in his ruling coalition. This became especially necessary as his rule grew less popular and more precarious. This article argues that the nature of the ruling coalition reflects the structure of politics and menu of priorities for the incumbent. The political landscape shapes composition of the ruling coalition, which mirrors realignment of social forces, interest groups and balance of power. This article casts a critical spotlight on two phases – 1986–2005 and 2006 to the present – placing coalition dynamics and the 2021 elections in the broader context of the shift in Uganda’s overall political landscape. Drawing on qualitative data sources including elite interviews and newspaper reports, and with specific focus on cabinet appointments, the article shows that electoral calculations and regime survival considerations are the biggest drivers of Museveni’s ruling coalition changes and composition.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/17531055.2023.2246761 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rjeaxx:v:17:y:2023:i:1-2:p:325-343

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/rjea20

DOI: 10.1080/17531055.2023.2246761

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Eastern African Studies is currently edited by Jim Robert Brennan

More articles in Journal of Eastern African Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().