APC3701 Assignment 1 Semester 1 Due 2026

University of South Africa  Universiteit van Suid-Afrika
College of Law  Department of Politics and International Relations
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APC3701

African Politics
Assignment 1  Democracy and Democratization in Southern Africa
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Module: APC3701  African Politics


Assignment: Assignment 1


Semester: Semester 1, 2026


Topic: Multiparty Democracy & Democratiza-

tion in Southern Africa

Countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana


Institution: University of South Africa (UNISA)


Department: Politics and International Relations


Citation Style: APA 7th Edition




Submitted in partial ful
lment of the requirements for APC3701  University of South Africa

,UNISA | APC3701 African Politics Assignment 1  Semester 1, 2026



Contents
1 Question 1: Challenges Facing Multiparty Democracy in Southern Africa  Zam-
bia, Zimbabwe and Botswana 2
1.1 1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.2 1.2 Zambia: Internal Party Con
icts and Limited Political Accountability . . . . 3

1.2.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2.2 Internal Party Con
icts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2.3 Limited Political Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2.4 Electoral Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1.3 1.3 Zimbabwe: Political Dominance and Institutional Weakness . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.3.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.3.2 Political Dominance of ZANU-PF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.3.3 Institutional Weakness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1.3.4 Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1.4 1.4 Botswana: Dominant Party Democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.4.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.4.2 The Dominance of the BDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.4.3 Civil Society and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.4.4 Challenges of Democratic Consolidation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.5 1.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9



2 Question 2: Successes and Challenges of Democratization in Southern Africa 10
2.1 2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2.2 2.2 Democratic Achievements in the Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.2.1 Electoral Progress and Regular Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.2.2 Constitutional Frameworks and Rule of Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.2.3 Growth of Civil Society and Free Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2.2.4 Regional Institutions: SADC's Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2.3 2.3 Challenges Aecting Democratization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.3.1 Poverty, Inequality, and the Social Conditions of Democracy . . . . . . . . 13

2.3.2 Weak Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.3.3 Neopatrimonialism and the Personalisation of Power . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.3.4 Regional Backsliding and Democratic Reversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14




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, UNISA | APC3701 African Politics Assignment 1  Semester 1, 2026


2.3.5 SADC's Limitations as a Democracy Enforcer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2.4 2.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15



Reference List 16




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