Surviving on Borrowed Power: Rethinking the Role of Civil Society in Zambia’s Third-Term Debate
Surviving on Borrowed Power: Rethinking the Role of Civil Society in Zambia’s Third-Term Debate
复制标题
靠借来的力量生存：重新思考民间社会在赞比亚第三任期辩论中的作用
DOI：
--
复制
发表时间：
2020
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Sishuwa Sishuwa
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Sishuwa Sishuwa
具有强大民间社会的非洲国家往往被认为具有巩固民主的最佳前景。赞比亚经常被认为是一个民主进步的例子，它可以通过一个强大的非国有部门来制衡政府的权力。事实上，这些文献的特点是，无论是在独裁统治还是民主统治下，工会和宗教组织都有能力迫使总统妥协。通常认为，最近最重大的胜利是绿洲论坛的成立，这是一个公民协会联盟，旨在捍卫任期限制，反对前总统弗雷德里克·奇卢巴在2001年违宪地获得第三个任期的企图。利用以前不可用和未充分利用的报纸，档案和口头的主要来源，本文认为，绿洲论坛所发挥的作用是必要的，但还不够。赞比亚民间社会在这一时刻受到侵蚀，使其变得软弱，无法改变奇卢巴的立场;因此，需要其他力量来完成这项工作。来自奇卢巴自己政党的议员和军方人员出现填补这一空白，并对他的计划给予决定性打击。更广泛地说，我认为工会和教会捍卫民主的能力和意愿被夸大了。宗教组织的分裂削弱了教会的重要性，而私有化和劳动力非正规化的双重进程削弱了工会的力量。奇怪的是，在向多党政治过渡的同时，非国家行为者的力量却在削弱而不是加强，非洲大陆许多地方的情况就是如此，这表明了民间社会的局限性。
Countries in Africa that feature a strong civil society are often assumed to have the best prospects for democratic consolidation. Zambia is often held up as an example of the democratic gains that can result from a robust non-state sector capable of checking the power of the government. Indeed, the literature is characterised by a remarkable consensus on the capacity of trade unions and religious organisations to force presidents to compromise, whether under authoritarian or democratic rule. The most significant recent victory is typically said to be the creation of the Oasis Forum, a coalition of civic associations formed to defend term limits against the attempts of the former president Frederick Chiluba to secure an unconstitutional third term in 2001. Drawing on previously unavailable and under-utilised newspaper, archival and oral primary sources, this article argues that the role played by the Oasis Forum was necessary but not sufficient. The erosion of Zambian civil society at that conjuncture made it weak and incapable of shifting Chiluba’s position; other forces were therefore required to do the job. Members of parliament from Chiluba’s own party and elements of the military emerged to fill this void and deal a decisive blow to his plans. More broadly, I argue that the capacity and the willingness of the unions and the churches to defend democracy have been overstated. The fragmentation of religious organisations has undermined the significance of the churches, while the twin processes of privatisation and the informalisation of the labour force have reduced the power of trade unions. Paradoxically, the transition to multi-party politics has gone hand in hand with the weakening rather than strengthening of non-state actors, as it has in many parts of the continent, demonstrating the limits of civil society.