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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The 1959 State of Emergency in Nyasaland: process and political implications
Authors:Banda, Paul Chiudza
Kayira, Gift Wasambo
Year:2012
Periodical:The Society of Malawi Journal
Volume:65
Issue:2
Pages:1-19
Language:English
Geographic term:Malawi
Subjects:state of emergency
1959
political violence
political repression
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/23341750
Abstract:This article focuses on the State of Emergency, declared in March 1959, which was most probably the climax of mass nationalism and political unrest in Malawi since the imposition of both colonial rule and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1891 and 1953, respectively. The paper contributes to the debates on the legacy of the State of Emergency on Malawi's (then Nyasaland) subsequent political culture. By analysing the events surrounding the declaration of the State of Emergency in March 1959 and the manner in which the African nationalists were treated, it is argued that the approach with which the State dealt with them, chiefly Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda and senior congress leaders, had a significant influence on subsequent developments in Malawi's post-colonial political landscape. Indeed, both sides used similar heavy-handed tactics on each other. The article analyses the first three regimes since independence in 1964 and discusses their repressive political culture, coming to the conclusion that such a culture is likely to pose a serious challenge in the attainment of real democratic values in Malawi's political system. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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