Ugandan Democracy: Hopes and Fears

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Periodical article

Title:	Ugandan Democracy: Hopes and Fears
Author:	Dubey, Ajay
Year:	1996
Periodical:	Africa Quarterly
Volume:	36
Issue:	2
Pages:	37-53
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Uganda
Subjects:	democracy political change Politics and Government
Abstract:	The achievements of the Museveni-led National Resistance Movement (NRM) which came to power in Uganda in 1986 have to be assessed in the broader historical setting. The author outlines political developments in Uganda from the time of independence in 1962, noting the country's experimentation with federal and unitary constitutional structures and different regime types, from the parliamentary system to State terrorism, military rule, multiparty, single party and no party rule. When Museveni took over he had to establish central government control over the entire country, especially the north and northeast, and he had to restore economic order. To establish peace, the NRM adopted a three-pronged strategy: reconciliation, suppression and constitutional-legal intervention. The author describes the NRM's experiment in participative grassroots democracy through local and district-level resistance committees, the drafting of the constitution, which was adopted in October 1995, and the 1996 presidential and parliamentary elections. Two fears remain: whether the military will allow de facto civilian control of government, and the absence of a politically sizable middle class which can provide a social base for democracy. Notes, ref.