The institutionalisation of political parties in Malawi

One important part of democratic consolidation is the institutionalisation of the party system and parties as they are central in that process. Party system institutionalisation in Africa has been a growing subject the last 20 years. In this paper I will present my theory and my findings from interviews with 24 interviewees including politicians, journalists and academia in Malawi during April and May in 2011. The findings will show a clear problematic institutionalisation process. The five areas of research; ideology versus personalisation, connection to other groups in society, intern democratic function, funding, partisanship and coherence all show a systematic lack of institutionalisation. Central parts of issue are the neopatrimonial system, the misuse of parties as personal properties and tools for power. There are no strong ideological bonds to other groups in society, a lack of registered members and democratic primary elections and a political culture holding on to the history of one-party rule are all contributing factors to the Malawian party system we see today