No-Party Democracy?: Ugandan Politics in Comparative Perspective

Are political parties an essential element of democracy? Or can a no-party system constitute a viable democratic alternative? Giovanni Carbone examines the politics of Museveniʹs Uganda to illustrate the achievements, contradictions, and limitations of participatory politics in the absence of partisan organizations. At a time when multiparty reforms were sweeping the globe, Uganda opted for a controversial, no-party democratic model. The countryʹs politics over the past two decades thus provide the perfect opportunity for addressing the many questions -- theoretical, empirical, and comparative -- that the notion of a no-party system of elected government raises. Carboneʹs analysis of how a no-party electoral regime actually works (or doesnʹt) in Uganda fills a gap in both democracy studies and the study of African politics. -- Publisher description

No-party democracy -- Building a no-party state in Uganda -- The political economy of support for the new regime -- Museveni's political trajectory -- The movement : a partisan organization in disguise -- The state of the old parties in a no-party state -- The electoral politics of no-partyism -- The parliamentary politics of no-partyism -- The demise of a democratic model