Against All Odds: Opposition Political Parties in Southern Africa

Opposition parties are vital to the functioning of democracies as they provide a representative system of the electorate while keeping ruling parties accountable. Through this important legislative role, the political system gains legitimacy. However, opposition parties across the Southern African region confront many challenges in their attempt to function effectively, which often results in incumbent parties growing increasingly arrogant, centralising power, failing to distinguish between party and state interests and ignoring constructive criticism from the opposition and broader civil society. Against All Odds: Opposition Political Parties in Southern Africa is the latest publication from KMM Review Publishing Company in association with the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).

The book provides a comprehensive study of multi-party democracy in Southern Africa and analysis by scholars and experts respected in their fields. It addresses the key problems that confront opposition political parties in the region, including issues why political parties in the region are generally weal and fragmented, how they relate to their constituents, articulate their interests to the media and examine the challenges due to state repression or internal weaknesses.

Edited by noted University of the Free State academic, Prof. Hussein Solomon, the book pulls together contributions from a number of prominent scholars from the region who share the experiences of their respected countries. This includes a diverse group of nations such as the island state of Mauritius to the regional behemoth South Africa and from democratic Botswana to feudal Swaziland.

The full list of country case-studies include:

Botswana (1965–2010), Lesotho (1993–2007), Mauritius (1982–2010), Mozambique (1994–2009), Namibia (1989–2009), South Africa (1994–2009), Swaziland, Zambia (2001–2008), and Zimbabwe (1995–2008).

About the Editor:

Professor Hussein Solomon lectures in the Department of Political Sciences at the University of the Free State. He is currently a visiting Professor at the Global Collaboration Centre at Osaka University, Japan and a visiting fellow at the Mackinder Programme for the Study of Long-Wave Events at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Download the list of contributors [Download.pdf]

Download the first chapter [Download.pdf]

Against All Odds: Opposition Political Parties in Southern Africa is available at all leading bookstores. countrywide, retailing at R 195.00 (VAT Inclusive).

For more information, please contact: Ipuseng Kotsokoane on Ipuseng@kmmr.co.za