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Accepted Paper:
Politics, Populism, and the Media – the case of Namibia
Henning Melber
(Nordic Africa Institute)
This paper examines political populist discourses and their media responses. It is a case study of contested space in Namibia’s democratic society. The focus is on the interaction between political rhetoric and civil society responses during 2024, in the build-up to national elections in November.
Paper long abstract:
Namibia is a democratic state and society based on a normative constitutional framework enshrining fundamental civil liberties. Freedom of speech and media freedom are elements of a vibrant public discourse in a multi-party democracy with regular elections being largely free and fair. This allows for uncensored political competition which utilizes also populist rhetoric, both by the so far dominant former liberation movement SWAPO - since Independence the political party in government - and several other political parties. It allows also civil society to openly comment and criticise.
The social cohesion during the 33 years of a sovereign state has been tested by an increasingly autocratic execution of political power facing growing opposition and – as indicated in the last national and regional elections in 2019 and 2020 respectively – a gradual loss of support of the dominant SWAPO by the electorate. This has in the build-up for the National Assembly and Presidential elections in November 2024 fostered a noticeable populist trend in policy statements by several parties. These are a matter of debate also in the media, in particular the independent press.
This paper will analyse recent developments in political culture to assess the precarious balance between party political campaigns and the role of media.