Preface
Since the Third Wave of Democratisation broke along African shores, many books and articles have been written about the particular transition processes. Ten years down the line, however, there is still a lack of comparative research on a sound methodological basis as well as a deficit in elaborate case studies. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) – a German political foundation – started in 2002 a series of assessments on democratisation processes in sub-Saharan-Africa. On the basis of a common set of questions, the state and problems of democratic transition were analysed in order to enable a crosscountry comparison. A first set of studies started in 2002 and covered Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. In 2003 the number of case studies was extended to Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Decisive for the selection of the case studies became the defunct character of their democratisation process. In all seven countries the democratic transition process was either never successfully accomplished or was, after a very promising beginning, sooner or later undermined by formidable challenges which threatened the reversal of democratic gains. To some degree the countries’ democratisation processes can even be labelled an “extended process of transition”.
The comparative approach of the study aims at highlighting differences in the democratisation processes as well as identifying commonalities and roots for the problems encountered. The qualitative analysis also attempts to provide an academic foundation for the development of adequate policies in support of democracy in Africa in general and for KAF in particular. The seven case studies were conducted by teams of German and African scholars; the latter originating from the country under review. As a qualitative measurement of democracy, the studies are based on personal observations from approximately 200 interviews and secondary sources that also encompassed empirical data gained from various surveys.
Drawing on the paradigms of democracy by Robert A Dahl and Larry Diamond, the analyses focus on political competition and participation, civil and political rights, political and civil pluralism, the rule of law, and checks and balances. Additionally, the studies address aspects of political culture and the behaviour of key actors. In order to avoid the shortcomings of a mere assessment of the status quo, which would fall short of identifying underlying causes for obstacles in democratic consolidation, the analyses emphasise the process character and take into account developments within the transition process and historical legacies that still might have an impact. In the case of the present Malawi study, the research team comprised Dr Heiko Meinhardt and Dr Nandini Patel. Both scholars are widely acknowledged for their in-depth analysis of Malawian politics. KAF would like to thank them for their dedication and excellent cooperation during the project period. The present analysis comes at a time when Malawi is moving to another crucial stage of its democratisation process. Since 1994 when political pluralism became a reality in Malawi there has been significant progress, checkered by notable challenges with reference to the focus areas of this study. As the report will observe and imply, there are old undemocratic habits which demand ‘unlearning’ and ‘reorientation’. This as a social transformational process will take a while. More challenges are manifestly seen in the growing concerns over police–public relations, intra- and inter-party relations, judicial independence, parliamentary and judiciary relations regarding political association and participation and, albeit not in greater detail, independence of the media. Key to effective democratic development in Malawi, as elsewhere in the subregion, will be the political will by the elite and all Malawians to accept unequivocal reform of social and political practice and behaviour in conformity to democracy. Democracy demands democrats. This political will should lead to the translation of research findings contained in this report into decisive and timely actions for the common good of all Malawians in order to accelerate democratic development and consolidation in Malawi.