Taking Stock of Democracy in Zambia

Democratisation in Zambia in the 1990s is assessed along with a review of approaches to explaining its limitations. A brief resumé of events between 1991 and 1998 is followed by a survey of the ‘conditions’ normally considered helpful to democracy are present in Zambia, chiefly socio-economic, cultural and associational values. The problems facing democracy are located in an international context and set against the background of formal and informal institutional patterns carried forward from previous decades. Path-dependence, the relative significance of structure and agency, and the implications of crises and shocks are briefly considered in relation to Zambia’s experience. The mixed nature of the evidence, when viewed from a plurality of perspectives and reference points, suggests that a nuanced assessment of Zambia’s version of democracy is more appropriate than one simple unidimensional judgment. The future prospects range from modest further progress to significant but not fatal erosion of democratisation in Zambia. -------------