BOTSWANA’S parliamentary democracy revisited

This edited volume, written by distinguished scholars based mainly at the University of Botswana, offers a challenging  assessment of Botswana's unique democracy, significantly advancing our understanding of the country and its politics. The contributors have utilised their varied, rich and practical expertise (in politics, democracy, law, governance, political economy, sociology and international relations) to produce a deeply scholarly yet accessible and refreshing account of Botswana. The interdisciplinary approach adopted stimulates debate while offering interesting insights into Botswana's past and present, and also into its unravelling challenges and prospects.

The book, which comes in four parts (primary institutions in parliamentary democracy; secondary institutions; political participation; and the regional and global context) offers a thorough and path-breaking analysis of critical aspects of Botswana's unique democracy. It also provides a conclusion and possible lessons to be gleaned from the country's experience of a sustained multi-party democracy. (This democracy is unique not as an exception or a 'miracle', but in the sense that each democracy exists in a cultural context.)

The novelty of the work lies in its comprehensive and robust probe into every aspect of Botswana's democracy. The book stands alone in its interrogation of institutions of parliament; the executive and the judiciary; the electoral system; the nature of local governance; and the media, the church and the private sector. It also portrays an active role for Botswana in international relations, unconstrained by its small-power status. Moreover, issues of gender and ethnicity are explained in a delicate and sensitive manner.

The book is intended to have a wide appeal for scholars, students and the general public. It is user-friendly, and will prove valuable to both undergraduate and graduate students within Botswana, the Southern African sub-region, Africa and beyond.

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PART ONE: PRIMARY INSTITUTIONS IN PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY

1. The role of Parliament in Botswana 
2. The Executive in Botswana’s parliamentary or constitutional democracy  
3. The role of the Judiciary in promoting democracy in Botswana 

PART TWO: SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS
The electoral system and administration in Botswana    

1. The political party system: explaining the predominance of the Botswana Democratic Party 
2. The state and the church in Botswana     

PART THREE: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN BOTSWANA’S DEMOCRACY

1. The media and democracy in Botswana 
2. The private sector and parliamentary democracy in Botswana
3. Local government and participatory democracy in Botswana  
4. The remaking of ethnicity in Botswana 
5. Gender and democracy in Botswana 

PART FOUR: THE REGIONAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT

1. Botswana’s foreign policy  
2. Botswana’s developmental democracy in a global context  
3. Shortcomings of parliamentary democracy in Botswana  

Conclusion - Introspection, retrospection, prospects and lessons