Uganda: A Story of Persistent Autocratic Rule

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dc.contributor.authorMakara, Sabiti
dc.contributor.authorWang, Vibeke
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-12T14:21:43Z
dc.date.available2025-11-12T14:21:43Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractThis chapter analyzes the persistent autocratization in Uganda under the prolonged rule of President Yoweri Museveni and the National Resistance Movement (NRM). It argues that Uganda's democratic backsliding is not a failure of institution-building but a deliberate strategy employed by the incumbent to retain power. The analysis focuses on the period following the formal reintroduction of multiparty politics in 2006, demonstrating how the regime has strategically utilized legal mechanisms constitutional amendments, restrictive legislation, and autocratic lawfare to undermine democratic institutions, stifle political opposition, and encroach upon judicial independence. These legal strategies are coupled with systemic patronage and repression to maintain control. Furthermore, the chapter examines how the Museveni regime has adeptly managed international relationships to bolster its position. This is illustrated through the politicization of LGBT rights to rally domestic support and divert attention from governance failures, and the strategic use of gender quota policies to cultivate international legitimacy. Despite significant leverage, the international community has been largely unwilling or unable to effectively counter these trends. The chapter concludes that Uganda's trajectory is defined by the executive's relentless use of both legal and international tools to blur the lines between law and lawlessness, thereby consolidating autocratic rule while maintaining a facade of democratic politics.
dc.identifier.citationMakara, S., & Wang, V. (2023). Uganda: A story of persistent autocratic rule. In L. R. Arriola, L. Rakner, & N. van de Walle (Eds.), Democratic backsliding in Africa? (pp. 213-234). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192867322.003.0009
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192867322.003.0009
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/3008
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherOxford University Press
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United Statesen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
dc.subjectDemocratic Backsliding
dc.subjectAutocratization
dc.subjectUganda
dc.subjectYoweri Museveni
dc.subjectNational Resistance Movement (NRM)
dc.subjectLawfare
dc.subjectPolitical Repression
dc.subjectGender Quotas
dc.subjectLGBT Rights
dc.subjectInternational Donors
dc.titleUganda: A Story of Persistent Autocratic Rule
dc.typeBook chapter

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