It's good to be the king

The research paper analyzes the persistence of one-party dominance in Africa, noting that ruling parties leverage state resources, security forces, and 'struggle credentials' to maintain control. It contrasts this with opposition parties that are often fractious, resource-poor, and centered on individual ambition. While citing the 2002 Kenyan election as an example of incumbent vulnerability, the author argues that genuine pluralism requires stronger civic responsibility and organized, broad-based support from civil society.

• Ruling parties in Africa maintain dominance through a combination of state resource control, including the use of national security forces, state media, and the manipulation of electoral commissions and judiciaries.
• Incumbents often manipulate electoral processes through complex registration requirements or by influencing the demarcation of constituencies to favor rural over urban voting areas, as seen with Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe.
• Opposition parties are frequently hindered by internal divisions, a lack of coherent long-term strategies, and a dependence on the ambitions of individual leaders rather than principled platforms.
• The success of opposition movements depends on strong organization and broad-based civil society support, exemplified by the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe and the National Rainbow Coalition's 2002 victory in Kenya.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2008). It's good to be the king. https://saiia.org.za/research/its-good-to-be-the-king/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. It's good to be the king. 2008. https://saiia.org.za/research/its-good-to-be-the-king/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=It's good to be the king |date=28 April 2008 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/its-good-to-be-the-king/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2008its, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{It's good to be the king}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2008}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/its-good-to-be-the-king/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }