Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T12:55:42.515Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Evolution of Tanzanian Political Leadership

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Patrick J. McGowan  and
H. K. M. Wacirah
Patrick J. McGowan
Affiliation:
Program of Eastern African Studies, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
H. K. M. Wacirah
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Union College, Schenectady, New York
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

An examination of politics and political thought in Tanzania since independence reveals three recurring themes. These are egalitarianism, mass participation in politics at all levels, and anti-elitism. A brief examination of these ideas will serve to point out some possible sources of political conflict if this ideology does become a guide for decision-making in Tanzania.

Equality implies the adoption of a universalistic legal order, the application of achievement criteria in recruitment in all sectors of society, and fair treatment for all citizens. However, like many other new states, Tanzania is culturally plural, is unevenly developed, and has skilled manpower shortages. In the drive to fill positions with nationals, it is doubtful that equality of opportunity can be achieved with any consistency in the immediate post-independence period.

The Arusha Declaration encourages mass participation in political life at all levels. Furthermore, compared to other African political parties, TANU has been relatively successful in involving citizens in the political process. The rationale for advocating mass involvement is to narrow the mass-elite gap and to create a sense of responsibility on the part of citizens. However, mass participation could also lead to the weakening of leadership by skilled individuals and the overloading of the political system via inflated demands.

The Arusha Declaration also deemphasizes the significance of wealth, education, skill, or other such values in the recruitment of leaders. The objective is to discourage elitism and all forms of elitist behavior on the part of the leadership.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , April 1974 , pp. 179 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1974

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES CITED

Bienen, H. Tanzania: Party Transformation and Economic Development. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970.Google Scholar
Cameron, J. The Development of Education in East Africa. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.Google Scholar
Fallers, L. A. “Are African Cultivators to Be Called ‘Peasants?’” Current Anthropology, Vol. II (1961).Google Scholar
Hopkins, R. F. Political Roles in a New State: Tanzania's First Decade. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971.Google Scholar
Inter-University Consortium for Political Research. A Guide to Resources and Services 1973-1974. Ann Arbor: ICPR, 1973.Google Scholar
Keller, S. I. Beyond the Ruling Class. New York: Random House, 1963.Google Scholar
Lloyd, P. C., ed. The New Elites of Tropical Africa. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.Google Scholar
McGowan, P. J. and Bolland, P.. The Political and Social Elite of Tanzania: An Analysis of Social Background Factors. Syracuse: Program of Eastern African Studies Monograph Series No. 3, 1971a.Google Scholar
McGowan, P. J. and Bolland, P. “Tanzania Elite Study Code Book, Revised.” Syracuse: Program of Eastern African Studies, 1971b. Mimeo.Google Scholar
MoGowan, P. J. and Nyangira, N.. “Relative Modernization and the Comparative Study of National Integration in Black Africa.” Paper read at a Workshop on National Integration in Africa of the Program of African Studies, Northwestern University, February 1972.Google Scholar
Nagle, J. D. “The Soviet Political Elite, 1917-1971: Application of a Generational Model of Social Change.” Paper read to the 1973 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, New Orleans, September 4-8, 1973.Google Scholar
Nyerere, J. K. Ujamaa: The Basis of African Socialism. Dar es Salaam: Tanganyika Standard, 1962.Google Scholar
Nyerere, J. K. Ujamaa: Essays on Socialism. London: Oxford University Press, 1968.Google Scholar
Riddell, J. B. The Spatial Dynamics of Modernization in Sierra Leone. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1970.Google Scholar
Soja, E. The Geography of Modernization in Kenya. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1968.Google Scholar
Tanganyika. African Census Report 1957. Dar es Salaam: Government Printer, 1963.Google Scholar
Tanzania. Report of the Presidential Commission on the Establishment of a Democratic One Party State. Dar es Salaam: Government Printer, 1965.Google Scholar
Tanzania Statistical Abstract. Dar es Salaam: Government Printer, 1966.Google Scholar
Who's Who in East Africa. Nairobi: Marco Publishing, 1964, 1966, 1968.Google Scholar