Populist Strategies in African Democracies

Danielle Resnick ()

No wp-2010-114, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

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.

Keywords: Economic development; Political science; Populism; Urbanization; Voting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2010-114

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