Political Transition in Africa I: Historical Perspectives

The Institute for African Studies at the Elliott School for International Affairs  presents  Political Transition in Africa I: Historical Perspectives with Ambassador Liberate Mulamula Thursday, March 9th, 2017 4:00-5:30 p.m. Elliott School of International Affairs  1957 E Street NW, Room 505 Washington, DC 20052 About the Event Join Ambassador Liberata Mulamula as she discusses historical perspectives on political transitions in Africa! This first lecture will address the historical perspective of the political transitions in African countries which have undergone tumultuous periods since independence movements of the late 1950's and 1960s. At the time of independence several countries adopted the Constitutions outlawing multi-partyism and created one single party political regimes to consolidate their powers and safeguard their hard-worn independence. Some of the new leaders for example the first President of Malawi, the late Kamuzu Banda declared himself a life president. Then followed the military coups and counter-coups of the 1970's and 80's in a number of African countries in which the leaders who toppled the civilian regimes as President Mobutu Seseseko of the then Zaire, suspended constitutions and the rule of law, banned all political parties in the quest for power and consolidation of personal rule leading to military dictatorships with deleterious consequences. The end of the cold war in the 1990's and the dawning of the 21st Century saw the 'wind or a tornado of change, as others put it, sweeping across the African continent leading to the new paradigm shift and crumbling of one-party systems, as most countries embraced multi-party democratic rule, the peaceful transfer of power in some like Tanzania, Ghana, Botswana, Ghana and Zambia, and amendment of constitutions to allow multi-party elections and presidential term limits.  About Ambassador Mulamula Ambassador Mulamula has been a long-serving career diplomat with 35 years of experience having served in various capacities at the Tanzania Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Diplomatic missions in New York (Permanent Mission to the UN), Canada and USA. She also served as the first Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region of Africa for Peace, Stability and Development with headquarters in Bujumbura, Burundi and covering 11 countries from 2006-2011. Ambassador Mulamula is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Elliott School's Institute of African Studies. Her area of interest is Women and Leadership in Africa.