THE EMERGENCE AND EVOLUTION OF POPULISM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: PARTY POLITICS AND PERSONALITIES

In the earlier years of post-colonial Africa, many revolutionaries and leaders of independent Africa embarked on political actions meant to advance and restore African affairs relative to the economy, social life and culture following decades of stagnation from the highly exploitative colonial experience. Some countries experienced radical transformation of political ideology in form of calls for the expulsion of all European settlers and the reclamation of land acquired during the colonial period back to state ownership. These populist actions were well received by a majority of Africans. But following a sequence of bad governance experiences within the continent that has been characterized by politics of marginalization, a new breed of populism has emerged on the continent founded on the promise of economic development with which political leaders have exploited to acquire power and extend their term limits through party politics, constitutional changes and electoral malpractices. This paper addresses the different faces of populism in reference to the experiences of South Africa, Rwanda and Zambia in light of factors such as economic development, ethnicity, political party competitions and ideology