paget 2012 programmatic politics ppt

8/12/2019 Paget 2012 Programmatic Politics PPT

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The Patriotic Front

Dan Paget

Independent Researcher

African Studies Seminar Series

University of Oxford

26thJanuary 2012


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The PF

The PF began as a Bemba potentially ethnic party (Scarritt 2006) but

by 2011 had build other constituencies. Its support grew rapidly.

The PF emphasized government responsibility for low living

conditions; corruption; and collusion with and weak oversight of

international investors.

The PF built a policy program that focused on these shortcomings.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%40%

45%

50%

2001 2006 2011

Percentageofvotew

on

Year of election

MMD UPND PF Other


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The PF as a programmatic party

The PFs policy program has had shortcomings. It is included

inconsistencies and contradictions and is vague.

The PF is connected to its supporters by programmatic linkages.

PF voters are more likely to: Believe that government economic policies have hurt most Zambians.

Distrust Zambian institutions.

Negatively evaluate government management of the economy.

Believe that the national government should control the sale of copper (83%).

(Cheeseman and Ford 2011)

These policy priorities have been broadly reflected in the PF in

office, despite some changes.


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Zambias party system

There are strong programmatic legacies in Zambia.

The MMD won a mandate in 1991, but its reform agenda soon fell

out of step with voters wishes.

Other than the PF, political parties in Zambia have not used policy to

connect with voters.

Opposition parties have been led by splinter MMD MPs and

Zambian elites that have had fervent political agendas.

These elites have lacked the imagination and channels of

communication with voters to build party-voter linkages upon them.


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Structural determinants and

UNIPs legacy Zambia has a long history of mining and urbanisation.

Moreover, there is a history of radical, redistributive politics from the

Copperbelt.

UNIPs state-centric economic policies left lasting expectations of

the states role in the economy and the provision of generous

welfare benefits.

Active trade unions left a legacy of aggressive protest politics.


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Party system changes and

challenges Factional in-fighting in the MMD drove out major Bemba-politicians

and weakened party ties with key Bemba-speaking heartlands.

Factionalism undermined the MMDs hold over Bemba-speaking

areas, leaving large constituencies open to competing parties.

The PF lacked the resources and stature to capture them.

The PF was faced with the challenge of projecting itself as the

legitimate and effective champion of the concerns of thoseconstituents.


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Responses to the challenge

The PF has used populist campaign methods.

Sata overcame his reliance upon an effective party infrastructure by

finding ways to reach voters directly.

Trade unions had developed mobilisational networks that were used

by the MMD but slowly marginalised.

Sata drew upon former trade union and church networks to provide

a mobilisational base and to short-circuit party-building challenges.


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Mobilisation strategies shaped the

PFs development Populism has become built-into the party. It has become imprinted in

the distribution of power and policy content.

Mobilisational networks allowed the PF to hone and develop its

message.

Populism and civil society networks allowed PF to amplify its

message and widen its support base rapidly.

The nature of civil society-PF relationships affected the partysorganisational development and the respect paid to stakeholders.


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Party politics without party

institutionalisation However, expanding in this way has forced the party to mix and

dilute its message.

The rapid rise of the party has made it reliant upon late defections,

from elites and party branches.

The speed of its expansion and the organisation-light methods of

mobilisation has left the PF without an infrastructure to develop and

support a coherent organisation.

The PF was well-placed to enlarge its support base. Rural Bemba

share many of the policy attitudes and beliefs of urban voters.


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Limited contagion

In other countries, the emergence of a radical programmatic party

has changed the political landscape.

The MMD has closed in on some popular PF positions, but has not

wooed voters with those positions. UPND remains staunchly pro-business.

The MMD has resorted to more intensely clientelistic strategies as

the PFs popularity has risen.

Different constituencies are less potentially responsive to

programmatic appeals.


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Conclusion

The PF is trail-blazing.

Some factors that led to its rise are peculiar to Zambia, but the

challenges that the PF faced may be recreated elsewhere.

The failure of other parties to pick up on the attitudes is remarkable.

Other parties may have overlooked their constituents just as much.

Research should focus on the processes by which policies are

adopted by parties.

Research should focus on the determinants of constituencies

receptiveness to programmatic ideas.


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It has been an honour and a

pleasure. Thank you.

paget 2012 programmatic politics ppt

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