Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-xxrs7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-17T14:51:20.625Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Ugandan relations with Western donors in the 1990s: what impact on democratisation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 1999

Ellen Hauser
Affiliation:
Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin

Abstract

Aid donors' support for democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s has been tempered by their desire to achieve other objectives. In Uganda, a high level of donor support for the Museveni government has been compatible with the Ugandan government's reluctance to introduce multiparty democracy. Donors have opted for ‘dialogue’ rather than coercive methods. This may be ascribed to a number of factors, including the destruction from which Uganda was recovering, the need to present Uganda as a success story for economic liberalisation, and donors' need to maintain good relations with Uganda in order to pursue their foreign policy goals. The resulting donor–recipient relationship has however created dangers for the maintenance of long-term sustainable democracy in Uganda, by condoning divisive policies, and neglecting the need for coalition-building and conflict resolution.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)