Contenu du sommaire : Partis politiques d'Afrique : retours sur un objet délaissé

Understanding parties and party systems in Africa
The introduction of democratic reforms in the 1990s sparked a resurgence of multipartism in Africa, which entailed a discontinuity in both the continent's politics and in its study. A wave of new analyses was produced that were largely based on established political science. What results and advances were obtained ? What are the key issues raised by the return of party pluralism in Africa ? What is the utility of existing models, theories and approaches for its understanding ? While recent research efforts unquestionably advanced our knowledge of the changing politics of the continent, neither side of the balance – the elaboration of theoretical frameworks and the detail of empirical knowledge – has achieved adequate levels of development as yet.

The voter-party linkage in Africa : the case of Ghana
Ghana is a relatively successful case of democratic transition, where political competition is largely free and fair. There are two major parties : the ruling NPP and the NDC of the charismatic former president J. J. Rawlings, and a few smaller parties. This article seeks to explore voter mobilisation strategies of political parties in Ghana, using the concept of linkage, which was first developed by Kay Lawson. The impact of clientelism, patronage and historical factors of party formation are discussed. Political parties in Ghana cannot be reduced to ethnicity or clientelism, and political traditions play an important role.

Political parties and the « partisan independence » of Amadou Toumani TouréIn a country which now boasts of 106 political parties, the return to power of Amadou Toumani Touré has stimulated a proliferation of groups and candidates who harbour their « independence » from parties. If these « Independents » have thus far not been able to convert their symbolic capital into electoral support, President Touré has paradoxically imposed their dominance within his « consensus cabinets », while political parties control the National Assembly. Nevertheless, lacking in political leverage, the Malian president has had to ally himself with the parties which, in return, have built an access to state resources, after years of exclusion.

The avatars of the African National Congress Youth League.
Following its legalisation in 1990, the ANC resurrected its youth wing, the ANC Youth League (Ancyl) to take the place of Sayco, which had federated the South African youth in the late 1980s. The composite character of Ancyl and its independent attitude generated strong initial tensions with the ANC, at the time of negotiations with the apartheid regime, but the ANC eventually strengthened its grasp over Ancyl after 1994. Still, Mbeki's coming succession reignites tensions within the ANC, thus bringing back Ancyl to its function as a major battleground for the control of the ANC.

Senegal at the crossroads
In March 2000, a coalition of parties eventually brought to an end the long reign of the Parti socialiste over Senegal. Building from an assessment of the origins of the difficult situation which Senegal was going through at the time, one will try to explore what has happened to the hopes raised by political alternance. The current, increasing political competitions are described, as well as the major forces. Thus it becomes possible to identify the key issues of the forthcoming elections. How far have Senegalese elites actually gone to make use of the alternance and reform the politics of their country ?

The journalist, the president and the booksellers
Abdou Latif Coulibaly is a leading Senegalese journalist. After two influential and controversial books on President Wade, he has produced a new volume on Senegalese politics, which has incurred indirect attempts at censorship. In this interview, Coulibaly reflects on the political trajectory of the country, the weakness of public intellectuals and his work as a journalist.

France and the United Nations at the « parliament » of Yopougon
Ivorian « young patriots », supporters of President Gbagbo, engage in politics in the many « parliaments » of Abidjan. These focal points for mobilisation and propaganda are documented here through the transcription of a series of speeches delivered in one such « parliament » in a context of renewed tension between Gbagbo on the one side, and France and the United nations on the other.