Henning Melber

Legacies of power : leadership change and former presidents in African politics

It was a widely dominant perception until the early 1990s that African rulers do not vacate their office alive. But even in the brutal reality of African politics, transition takes place and diffe ...

Re-examining liberation in Namibia : political culture since independence

From 1960, SWAPO of Namibia led the organised and later armed struggle for independence. In late 1989, the liberation movement was finally elected to power under United Nations supervision as the l ...

Southern African Liberation Movements as Governments and the Limits to Liberation1

When liberation movements take power, their governments are often marked by military mindsets, categorising people as winners and losers, and operating along the lines of command and obedience. Such trends are evident in southern Africa (Melber 2003, 2006). Democratic discourse in search of the common good would look quite different. When analysing the shortcomings of those who obtained political control over societies after a protracted armed struggle against minority settler regimes, however, one also needs to (self-) critically reflect upon those among us who rendered support.

From Controlled Change to Changed Control: The Case of Namibia

Fundamental socio-political changes took place towards the end of the twentieth century in southern Africa with the mediated and controlled decolonisation processes of the previously settler-dominated societies. The spectre of prolonged civil war and the need to keep the economies running prompted policies of compromise. This came also as a result of pressure exercised by international actors on both the colonial powers and the liberation movements. Hence the transition to independence negotiated and implemented for Namibia under the initiative of the United Nations was a process of controlled change, which finally resulted in changed control. As a result of a negotiated settlement, the national liberation movement, SWAPO reconstituted itself as a political party composing the government, and took over state structures and subsequently exercised increasing control over the political sphere withinNamibian society. However, in so doing, SWAPO found itself inevitably engaged in compromise in that, although it formally acceded to power, it did so without securing adequate control over wide swathes of society and the economy. Instead, the structural legacy of settler colonialism remained alive. Consequently, the project of effecting social transformation was always going to be a long drawn out process at best. The same applies to profound changes of political culture towards the consolidation of democracy. Apart from the fact that there are lasting structural and psychological effects resulting from the colonial legacy (Melber 2000, 2001, 2002a), vested interests are re-established, and originally formulated goals of social transformation are either compromised or even totally abandoned in favour of the interests of a new elite mainly rooted in the sphere of a new nationalism and its power of definition. It is the complexity of these interrelated processes that this analysis seeks to document.

One Namibia, one nation? The Caprivi as contested territory

Abstract The second of August 2009 marked the tenth anniversary of the failed secessionist attempt by the Caprivi Liberation Movement (CLM). It resulted in Namibias sole state of emergency since independence. Ten years on, the high treason trial for what began as more than 130 accused drags on. Namibia thus has the longest serving political prisoners within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) without their having been convicted. This article draws attention to a widely neglected failure in Namibias nation-building effort and thereby highlights a special challenge left by the colonial legacy to the independent government. It presents a summary of events leading to the secessionist attempt and a historical overview of issues around the so-called Caprivi Strip and explores the shortcomings in an unresolved relationship between the central state and the local perspectives and identities of people living at the margins. By doing so, it uses the case study of the Caprivi region as an example for the challenges of bringing about ‘One Namibia, One Nation’.

South Africa and NEPAD : quo vadis?

A critical look at the role played by South Africa in the initiative.

Namibia: a trust betrayed – again?

As Namibian youth, and as Africans, you must therefore be on the full alert and remain vigilant against deceptive attempts by opportunists and unpatriotic elements that attempt to divide you. As the future leaders of our country, you should act with dedication and commitment; to always promote the interests of the SWAPO [South West African People’s Organisation] Party and the national interests before your own. It is only through that manner that the SWAPO Party will grow from strength to strength and continue to rule Namibia for the next ONE THOUSAND YEARS. (Sam Nujoma, Founding Father of the Republic of Namibia, in a speech to the SWAPO Youth League in 2010)

Whose world? Development, civil society, development studies and (not only) scholar activists

The current international development discourse focuses much on the Millennium Development Goals (mdgs) as part of a global social contract in support of international cooperation and governance, with the debate on the post-mdgs and the Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs) indicating a shift. These goals are at least in part addressing developmental constraints confronting the world as a result of the effects the dominant growth models have had on limited resources and global goods. Rio+20 was a forum which brought to the fore the conflicting issues at stake and the challenges for any development paradigm seeking to enhance global justice and equality. This article explores the discrepancies between dominant paradigms cultivated in official discourses, on the one hand, and alternatives for another development presented as anti-hegemonic counter-models for survival strategies. It considers the role of civil society agencies and scholar activists in development studies.

Namibia's national assembly and presidential elections 2009: Did democracy win?

Abstract National Assembly and presidential elections were held in Namibia on 27 and 28 November 2009. The former liberation movement South West Africa Peoples Organisation (SWAPO) once again secured an overwhelming majority of votes, which consolidated its de facto one-party rule. But the build up to these elections, the contestation by a newly established party and the disputed election results indicated a growing polarisation and a totalitarian tendency, which dents the positive image hitherto associated with Namibian democracy. This election analysis summarises features before, during and after the elections and puts the voting results into a party political context.

United in Separation? Lozi Secessionism in Zambia and Namibia

This chapter analyzes why secessionist movements on both sides of the Namibia-Zambia border have—despite shared roots—so far never joined forces in a united cause of pan-Lozi nationalism. We outline the historical processes through which the Lozi kingdom was partitioned and gradually transformed into Barotseland and the Caprivi Strip during the colonial period. We then examine how decolonization planted the seeds of Lozi separatism in Western Province and the secessionist movement in Caprivi, and how these evolved separately after Zambia’s and Namibia’s independence. The final section traces the initial thawing and renewed freezing of relations between successive central governments and separatists in the Zambian case, as well as the high treason trial that defined the aftermath of the Caprivi secession in Namibia.