JSPES, Vol. 43, No. 1-2 (Spring-Summer 2018)
pp. 120–141

The Failure of Democratic
Consolidation in Uganda

Genevieve Enid Meyers

Department of Political Science
University of Detroit Mercy

The 1980s and 1990s did not just generate excitement about the “third wave” of democratization in Africa, but also the notion that a “new-breed” of leaders had emerged. One such considered leader, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda, gained domestic and international acclaim as a visionary and pragmatic reformer. Upon attaining power in 1986, he claimed he was the bearer of popular democratic governance and was introducing a fundamental change to Ugandan politics. This article illustrates how Museveni’s initial governance efforts generated positive democratic changes and high hopes for sustainable democratic success, and then elucidates how despite those efforts, he never intended to entrench democracy and constitutional rule. The analysis presented shows that from the inception of his rule, the changes he initiated — be they the so-called no-party democracy and ban on political pluralism, the removal of presidential term limits, or the removal of the presidential age limit — only entrenched and legitimized his power. By revisiting and shifting the historical narrative, this paper lends clarity to Uganda’s current political context, illustrating how President Museveni, rather than consolidating democracy, skillfully replaced a more primitive and violent form of authoritarianism with a more efficient, and sustainable form.