Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T05:19:51.720Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Power-sharing in comparative perspective: the dynamics of ‘unity government’ in Kenya and Zimbabwe*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2010

Nic Cheeseman  and
Blessing-Miles Tendi
Nic Cheeseman*
Affiliation:
Department of Politics and International Relations and African Studies Centre, University of Oxford, 92 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 7ND, UK
Blessing-Miles Tendi*
Affiliation:
Freelance Journalist and Researcher on Southern African Politics, St Antony's College, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6JF, UK
*
Email: [email protected]and
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper draws on the recent experience of Kenya and Zimbabwe to demonstrate how power-sharing has played out in Africa. Although the two cases share some superficial similarities, variation in the strength and disposition of key veto players generated radically different contexts that shaped the feasibility and impact of unity government. Explaining the number and attitude of veto players requires a comparative analysis of the evolution of civil–military and intra-elite relations. In Zimbabwe, the exclusionary use of violence and rhetoric, together with the militarisation of politics, created far greater barriers to genuine power-sharing, resulting in the politics of continuity. These veto players were less significant in the Kenyan case, giving rise to a more cohesive outcome in the form of the politics of collusion. However, we find that neither mode of power-sharing creates the conditions for effective reform, which leads to a more general conclusion: unity government serves to postpone conflict, rather than to resolve it.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 48 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 203 - 229
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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.)

Footnotes

*

The authors would like to thank Andreas Mehler and the participants of the ‘Power-Sharing Agreements in Africa’ conference (Hamburg), Gabrielle Lynch and the participants of the ‘Democratization in Africa’ conference (Leeds), Jocelyn Alexander, Owen Elliott, Susanne Mueller, Brian Raftopoulos, Timothy Scarnecchia, and two anonymous reviewers, for their insightful and helpful comments.

References

REFERENCES

Alexander, J. 2006. The Unsettled Land: state making and the politics of land in Zimbabwe 1893–2003. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Alexander, J. 2009. ‘Zimbabwe since 1997: land & the legacies of war’, in Mustapha, A. R. & Whitfield, L., eds. Turning Points in African Democracy. Oxford: James Currey, 185–201.Google Scholar
Alexander, J. & McGregor, J.. 1999. ‘Representing violence in Matabeleland: Zimbabwean press and internet debates’, in Allen, T. & Seaton, J., eds. The Media and Conflict. London: Zed Books, 251.Google Scholar
Alexander, J. & Tendi, B. M.. 2008. ‘A tale of two elections: Zimbabwe at the polls in 2008’, ACAS Bulletin: Special Issue on the Zimbabwe Crisis 2, 80: 1–30.Google Scholar
Anderson, D. 2003. ‘Briefing: Kenya's elections 2002 – the dawning of a new era?’, African Affairs 102, 407: 331–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branch, D. & Cheeseman, N. 2006. ‘The politics of control in Kenya: understanding the bureaucratic-executive state’, Review of African Political Economy 33, 107: 11–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branch, D. & Cheeseman, N., eds. 2008. ‘Election fever: Kenya's crisis’, special edition of Journal of Eastern African Studies 2, 2.Google Scholar
Branch, D. & Cheeseman, N. 2009. ‘Democratization, state failure, and sequencing in Africa: lessons from Kenya’, African Affairs 108, 430: 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, S. 2009. ‘Donor responses to the 2008 Kenya crisis: finally getting it right’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 27, 3: 389–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, Legal Resources Foundation (CCJP). 2002. Breaking The Silence, Building True Peace: a report on the disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands, 1980 to 1988. Harare: CCJP/LRF.Google Scholar
Cheeseman, N. 2008. ‘The Kenyan election of 2007: an introduction’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 2, 2: 166–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheeseman, N. 2009. ‘Kenya’, in Mehler, A., Melber, H., & Walraven, K. V., eds. Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara 2008. Leiden: Brill, 321–33.Google Scholar
Chitiyo, K. 2009. The Case for Security Sector Reform in Zimbabwe. London: Royal United Services Institute.Google Scholar
Gertzel, C. 1970. The Politics of Independent Kenya. Nairobi: East African Publishing House.Google Scholar
Hammar, A., Raftopoulos, B. & Jensen, S., eds. 2003. Zimbabwe's Unfinished Business: rethinking land, state and nation in the context of crisis. Harare: Weaver Press.Google Scholar
Keefer, P. & Stasavage, D.. 2003. ‘The limits of delegation: veto players, central bank independence, and the credibility of monetary policy’, American Political Science Review 97, 3: 407–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kriger, N. 2007. ‘Liberation from constitutional constraints: land reform in Zimbabwe’, SAIS Review of International Affairs 17, 2: 63–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lonsdale, J. M. 2008. ‘Soil, work, civilisation and citizenship in Kenya’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 2, 2: 205–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, G. 2008. ‘Courting the Kalenjin: the failure of dynasticism and the strength of the ODM wave in Kenya's Rift Valley province’, African Affairs 107, 429: 541–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matyszak, D. 2009. Power Dynamics in Zimbabwe's Inclusive Government. Harare: Research and Advocacy Unit.Google Scholar
Mehler, A. 2009. ‘Peace and power sharing in Africa: a not so obvious relationship’, African Affairs 108, 432: 453–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, S. 2008. ‘The political economy of Kenya's crisis’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 2, 2: 185–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mugabe, R. 2001. The Third Chimurenga. Harare: Department of Information and Publicity.Google Scholar
Murunga, G. & Nasong'o, S.. 2006. ‘Bent on self-destruction: the Kibaki regime in Kenya’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 24, 1: 1–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raftopoulos, B. 2000. ‘The state, NGOs and democratization’, in Moyo, S., Makumbe, J. & Raftopoulos, B., eds. NGOs, the State and Politics in Zimbabwe. Harare: SAPES, 21–46.Google Scholar
Raftopoulos, B. & Savage, T.. 2005. Zimbabwe: injustice and political reconciliation. Harare: Weaver Press.Google Scholar
Ranger, T. 2004. ‘Nationalist historiography, patriotic history and the history of the nation: the struggle over the past in Zimbabwe’, Journal of Southern African History 30, 2: 215–34.Google Scholar
Ranger, T. 2008. ‘Zim power deal a mix of fire and water’, in East African, 5.10.2008, available at: http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/477380/-/s1svhoz/-/index.html, accessed 6.8.2009.Google Scholar
Sullivan, D. 2005. ‘The missing pillars: a look at the failure of peace in Burundi through the lens of Arend Lijphart's theory of consociational democracy’, Journal of Modern African Studies 43, 1: 75–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tamarkin, M. 1978. ‘The roots of political stability in Kenya’, African Affairs 77, 308: 297–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tendi, B. M. 2010. Making History in Mugabe's Zimbabwe: politics, intellectuals and the media. Oxford: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Throup, D. 1987. ‘The construction and destruction of the Kenyatta state’, in Schatzberg, M., ed. The Political Economy of Kenya, London: Praeger, 33–74.Google Scholar
Throup, D. & Hornsby, C.. 1998. Multi-Party Politics in Kenya: the Kenyatta and Moi states and the triumph of the system in the 1992 election. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Tsebelis, G. 2002. How Institutions Work. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Widner, J. 1992. The Rise of a Party-State in Kenya: from ‘Harambee’ to ‘Nyayo’. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, T. 2006. ‘Immunity or accountability? Daniel Toroitich arap Moi: Kenya's first retired president’, in Southall, R. & Melber, H., eds. Legacies of Power: leadership change and former presidents in African politics. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, 197–232.Google Scholar

Online documentation

Amnesty International (AI). June 2009. ‘Zimbabwe progress on human rights woefully slow’, available at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/zimbabwe-progress-human-rights-woefully-slow-20090618, accessed 12.8.2009.

Department for International Development (DfID). 2008. ‘Statement on Kenya’, available at: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/Press-releases/2008/Statement-on-Kenya-by-Foreign-Secretary-David-Miliband/, accessed 24.8.2009.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2008. ‘“Bullets for each of you”: state-sponsored violence since Zimbabwe's March 29 elections’, available at: <http://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/zimbabwe0608/index.htm, accessed 11.8.2009.

HRW. 2009. ‘Diamonds in the rough: human rights abuses in the Marange diamond fields of Zimbabwe’, available at: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/06/26/diamonds-rough-0, accessed 12.8.2009.

Institute of Democracy in Africa (IDASA). 12.8.2009. ‘Government of National Unity Watch Zimbabwe’, available at: http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/2009081223583/weekday-top-stories/gnu-watch-by-idasa.html, accessed 14.8.2009.

Sokwanele. 6.7.2009. ‘Zimbabwe inclusive government watch 6’, available at: http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/4371, accessed 16.8.2009.

Solidarity Peace Trust (SPT). 21.5.2008. ‘Punishing dissent, silencing citizen: Zimbabwe election 2008’, available at: http://www.solidaritypeacetrust.org/reports/punish_and_silence.pdf, accessed 18.8.2009.

SPT. 30.6.2009. ‘Walking a thin line: the political and humanitarian challenges facing the GPA leadership – and ordinary citizens’, available at: www.solidaritypeacetrust.org/reports/walkinga_thin_line.doc, accessed 18.8.2009.

SW Radio Africa. 31.7.2009. ‘MISA monthly Zimbabwe alerts digest – July 2009’, available at: http://www.swradioafrica.com/Documents/misa280809.pdf, accessed 23.2.2010.

SW Radio Africa. 7.8.2009. ‘Mutambara says MDC has no control in unity government’, available at: http://www.swradioafrica.com/News060809/Unity060809.htm, accessed 24.6.2009.

SW Radio Africa. 2.10.2009. ‘The militarization of media and information parastatals’, available at: http://www.swradioafrica.com/news021009/media021009.htm, accessed 23.2.2010

Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum (ZHRF), Political Violence Reports. January-June 2009, available at: http://www.hrforumzim.com/frames/inside_frame_monthly.htm, accessed 19.8.2009.

Zimbabwe Institute (ZI). 1.3.2004. ‘Playing with fire: an account of human rights abuses experienced by opposition members of parliament and candidates in Zimbabwe’, available at: http://www.zimbabweinstitute.org/Publications/, accessed 30.7.2009.

Newspaper articles

BBC News Online. 9.1.2002. ‘Army deals blow to Mugabe rival’, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1749933.stm, accessed 18.8.2009.

BBC News Online. 17.4.2008. ‘Hardtalk interview with Morgan Tsvangirai’, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/713207.stm, accessed 18.8.2009.

BBC News Online. 14.10.2009. ‘Zimbabwe MDC man returned to jail’, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8307283.stm, accessed 15.10.2009.

Daily Nation (Nairobi). 23.1.2009. ‘Ruto and Kiraitu under fire over scandals’, available at: http://multimedia.marsgroupkenya.org/?StoryID=243632&page=1&p=Bahari, accessed 5.8.2009.

Daily Nation. 20.2.2009. ‘Uhuru and Ruto allies in secret talks’, available at: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/532946/-/view/printVersion/-/d7ym4u/-/index.html, accessed 5.8.2009.

Great Zimbabwe News. 24.9.2009. ‘MDC-T leadership under fire over RBZ cars’, available at: http://www.greatzimbabwenews.com/index.php?news=57, accessed 24.9.2009.

The Herald (Zimbabwe). 25.9.2009. ‘MDC-T's parallel govt treacherous’.

Sky News. 7.10.2009. ‘Zimbabwe PM: “change still being blocked”’, available at: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Zimbabwe-Morgan-Tsvangirai-Frustrated-By-Slow-Pace-Of-Change-Under-Robert-Mugabe-Power-Sharing-Deal/Article/200910115400800?lpos=World_News_Top_Stories_Header_2&lid=ARTICLE_15400800_Zimbabwe%3A_Morgan_Tsvangirai_Frustrated_By_Slow_Pace_Of_Change_Under_Robert_Mugabe_Power-Sharing_Deal, accessed 7.10.2009.

The Standard (Nairobi). 21.2.2009. ‘Ruto censure motion exposed hypocrisy in our leaders’, available at: http://www.eastandard.net/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=1144007149&cid=539&, accessed 6.8.2009.

The Standard. 10.3.2009. ‘Ruto breaks ranks with ODM’, available at: http://www.eastandard.net/archives/InsidePage.php?id=1144008513&cid=4&, accessed 6.8.2009.

UK Guardian (London). 14.8.2008. ‘Zimbabwe's generals will not surrender’.

UK Guardian. 27.7.2009. ‘Zimbabwe minister receives bullet threat in post’.

UK Guardian. 2.8.2009. ‘Robert Mugabe in bid to wreck unity’.

Washington Post (Washington, DC). 5.7.2008. ‘Inside Mugabe's violent crackdown’.

Zimbabwe Independent (Harare). 16.4.2009. ‘MDC-T MPs defy Tsvangirai’.

Zimbabwe Online. 1.10.2007. ‘Vice-President pleads with army to stop farm seizures’, available at: http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=2098, accessed 3.8.2009.

Zimbabwe Online. 28.3.2008. ‘Zimbabwe security chiefs threaten crackdown’, available at: http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=2951, accessed 12.8.2009.

Zimbabwe Online. 17.4.2008. ‘Over 130 white farmers evicted in 3 weeks: CFU’, available at: http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=3050, accessed 3.8.2009.

Zimbabwe Online. 24.8.2009. ‘MDC asks for probe into political murders’, available at: http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=5014, accessed 28.8.2009.

Zimbabwe Times (Harare). 30.9.2009. ‘Moyo spent year in lap of Meikles luxury’.

Interviews

General Chiwenga, Commander of Zimbabwean Army, Zimbabwe, 3.9.2006.