The previous three chapters applied the Diamond and Gunther (2001 and 2003) typology to Kenya, Namibia, and Ghana. This chapter summarizes the results from those chapters in a comparative manner. The primary finding emanating from the empirical analysis of parties in the three African countries is that the African political landscape is much more diverse than commonly assumed. Contrary to conventional scholarly wisdom, ethnic parties do not dominate the political scene in Africa. Instead, a wide variety of party types exist. In Namibia and Ghana – two of the three countries – nonethnic party types prevail. Only in Kenya do ethnic parties dominate the political contest. Multiparty competition in ethnically segmented societies does not harden communal relations but instead increases party outreach.

In reviewing the empirical results from Kenya, Ghana, and Namibia, the chapter notes a variation of political party types at two levels: at the level of individual parties (i.e., within countries) and between countries over time. This chapter focuses on variation within countries. It identifies context-specific factors responsible for this type of variation. Subsequently, the chapter compares and contrasts the programmatic content and the political orientation (left versus right) of parties. It also pays some attention to the role of programmatic orientations. Previous authors have dedicated little to no effort toward examining this dimension of African politics.