Abstract

This study is a contribution to both contemporary and empirical historical approaches. It is part of contemporary history because it sought to interpret present day occurrences in the light of past historical developments. At the same time, the study is also empirical because past historical changes and problems have been analysed in terms of their time and context. Using the Modernization Theory of analysis (which regards the development of Africa’s political organizations as an extension of developments that first appeared in the West), the study presents a historical overview of the development of multi-partyism in Malawi’s political history, with special focus on the second-wave of multi-partyism which swept across many African countries from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Two political parties (AFORD and UDF) were selected for the study, basically because they were the two most prominent political pressure groups (later political parties) that fought for the re-introduction of multi-partyism in Malawi; and also due to the fact that from the time multi-partyism was re-introduced in the country, these two parties, together with the MCP, were the most prominent on the country’s political scene. The study has established that there are mainly two schools of thought that explain the development of multi-partyism in Africa, namely; the Externalist School and the Internalist School. The Externalist School attributes the failure of the first wave of multi partyism in Africa to factors beyond the control of the parties concerned. Such factors vii included Africa’s ethnic diversity; the influence of colonial rule; the intervention of the military in mainstream politics; the desire to build nations that are unified and economically stable, etc. On the other hand, the Internalist School faults the internal organization of the political parties as being the major cause of the failure of multi partyism in Africa. Such factors include lack of reliable sources of funding; lack of or non-adherence to ideologies; and ethnic rivalries, among other issues.This study has established that in Malawi, as elsewhere in Africa, both externalist and internalist factors accounted for the failure of the first wave of multi-partyism which waned with the attainment of independence in the mid 1960s. As for the second wave of multi-partyism which began in the early 1990s, however, the main problems encountered have been mainly internal to political parties at stake. Both AFORD and UDF, which the study set out to examine, have been plagued by serious internal problems over the past fifteen years or so- a period spanning the three general elections held in 1994, 1999 and 2004. The problems have almost gotten out of control as far as AFORD is concerned. They include lack of proper conflict resolution mechanisms, intra-party democracy, party ideologies, reliable sources of funding, and sound leadership. In the light of such an assessment, the study concludes that multi-partyism in Malawi has yet to be entrenched.

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School	: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issued Date	: 2009

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