Features of formation of party systems of Tropical Africa countries

Abstract

The peculiarities of party building in the countries of Tropical (Sub-Saharan, Black) Africa are characterized. It is emphasized that party building takes place within the framework of a non-Western type of political process. The main features of the political process for the countries of Tropical Africa are highlighted: 1) a specific way of organizing power, which combines the principles and institutions of old (traditional, colonial) and new forms of autocracy and democracy; 2) the institution of elections is the only full-fledged democratic institution in Africa, although the procedures for their holding are constantly violated; 3) a long stay in power of one party and the constancy of political leaders; 4) presidential-parliamentary form of government, which is essentially presidential; 5) lack of stabilizing rational bureaucracy; 6) significant (sometimes dominant) influence of the army on the political process; 7) underdevelopment of civil society; 8) weakness of political parties, their clan nature, evolution towards the regime of personal power, populist strategies of their activities; 9) tribalism; 10) hybrid political regime.
The main periods of the development of political parties in the countries of Tropical Africa are distinguished and studied: the first: between the First and Second World Wars (the birth of political parties); the second: 1945–1970 (formation of multi-party system); the third: the 80s of the XX century. (dominance of one-party systems); the fourth: starting from the 1990s, the main characteristic of which is the transition to multipartyism.
The main characteristics of political parties in Tropical Africa are studied: the impossibility of determining the number of parties; weakness of the organizational structure; narrowed program and ideological spectrum of parties; great typological diversity. A typology of political parties is proposed: 1) Traditional parties of the local elite; 2) Customer batches; 3) Class mass parties; 4) Pluralist mass parties; 5) Nationalist parties; 6) Mono-ethnic parties; 7) Polyethnic (congress) parties (union, coalition of ethnic parties); 8) Religious parties; 9) Fundamentalist parties and neo-totalitarian religious parties; 10) Electoral parties; 11) Personalist parties; 12) Parties-movements; 13) Parties of "new politics"/ one or two topical issues.
Conclusions are made regarding the peculiarities of the functioning of political parties in the countries of Tropical Africa in the conditions of democratic transit, as a rule, this is a hybrid political regime.