Church, Law and Political Transition in Malawi 1992-1994


Book Description

The year 2020 began in Malawi with a moment of high political drama. On 3 February, the Constitutional Court declared the Presidential election of May 2019 invalid, null and void. Its judgement laid bare the extent of the irregularities that marred the conduct of the election and vindicated the widespread popular view that its result was not valid. The Courts requirement that the election be re-run ignited a flurry of political and parliamentary activity, suggesting that the country might be on the cusp of significant change. It remains to be seen what the eventual outcome will be. Meanwhile there may be value in looking back to an earlier time of dramatic political transition when Malawi shook off the shackles of one-party government and embraced multi-party democracy in 1992-94. In that process too, the courts played an active role, though it was from the witness of the churches that the initial impetus came. In this book theologians and lawyers join forces with other scholars to offer a comprehensive analysis of a turning-point in Malawis political history. This reprint is offered in the hope that lessons learned from the past can help to shape the future as Malawians arrive once again at a decisive moment.







Christians by Grace-- Baptists by Choice


Book Description

"The Baptist convention of Malawi (BACOMA) grew out of the Baptist Mission in Malawi's work that began almost 50 years ago as a result of plans by the Central African (Southern Baptist Convention) Mission to expand their works from Zimbabwe to Malawi. Although BACOMA owes much of their tradition to the white Southern Baptists of the US, they are typically a Malawian expression of the Church. In five chapters the author, a long standing Principle of the Baptist Theological Seminary of Malawi, offers a history of the Baptist convention of Malawi. The five themes being: BACOMA's Polygenetic Nature; Evangelistic Zeal and the Development of BACOMA 1970-1989; Women and Youth in Evangelism and the Development of BACOMA; Separation and Cooperation: A "Loose" Partnership and The People."--




Democratization in Malawi


Book Description

The vote in favour of multi-party politics at the National Referendum of 1993, and the subsequent General Election of 1994, heralded the advent of a democratic system of government in Malawi. lt soon became apparent, however, that there remained many obstacles to overcome before Malawi would be a truly democratic country. In this volume, a multi-disciplinary approach has been employed to examine both the progress and the pitfalls of the democratization process. Political scientists, lawyers, historians, theologians, literary critics, linguists, economists, and educationalists apply the tools of their respective disciplines to take stock of democratization in Malawi. This book is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking to understand the social and political situation in Malawi in the early years of the Second Republic.




Blantyre Mission and the Making of Modern Malawi


Book Description

When a thousand leading members of the Nyasaland African Congress were detained under the emergency regulations imposed by the Federation government in 1959, the Presbyterian chaplains who ministered to them at Kanchedza Camp in Limbe were the late Rev Jonathan Sangaya and Rev Andrew C. Ross. They soon discovered that around 700 of the thousand men were members of the Church of Central African Presbyterian. This raised a question in the mind of the recently arrived Scottish missionary: how may we account historically for the fact that so many national leaders were Presbyterians? The quest to answer that question led him to produce the thorough examination of the foundation and early history of the Blantyre Mission of the Church of Scotland which is found in this book. Written in the mid-1960s, it remains today an indispensable work of reference for understanding the history of both church and nation in Malawi.




Promises, Power, Politics and Poverty


Book Description

Dr. Banda's thirty-year rule was the subject of Lwanda's earlier book Kamuzu Banda of Malawi: a Study in Promise, Power and Paralysis, the first edition of which was in 1993. Now the small Southern African nation of Malawi has been a multiparty democracy since the first multiparty elections on 17 May 1994. The first multiparty dispensation, under the United Democratic Front's President Bakili Muluzi, experienced both startling successes and fantastic failures. Since then, the paralysing poverty has persisted, yet the once silent land is resonating with freedom of speech, free universal primary school education, an independent judiciary... The first incarnation of this book was written in 1996, three years before the elections of 1999. At the time, some of the critical political questions then were: Could the UDF begin delivering on their pledges on poverty alleviation and development? Was the MCP capable of genuinely reforming itself? Could AFORD survive? Could democracy itself survive in Malawi? Could a new cadre of leadership emerge; one that was both unencumbered by the Banda legacy and which spoke for both rich and poor, rural and urban? These are some of the issues discussed in Promises, Power, Politics and Poverty the Democratic Transition in Malawi. This book is still, by far, the most detailed account of the political transition of 1991 to 1994, containing details of the origins of the UDF and AFORD, and charting the rise and fall of the Diaspora-based political parties. It also critically examined the performance of the new government up to 1996. It is an essential comprehensive reading for all those interested in the turbulent politics of Malawi, from 1961 to the present. It has dozens of illuminative pictures and anecdotes. "Lwanda is the kind of writer who wants to put everything in..." Landeg White, (Emeritus Director, Centre for Southern African Studies, York University). "He writes with deep knowledge, commendable compassion, and often remarkable analytical insight. This analysis of a complex political situation in Malawi since the defeat of Dr. Banda deserves to be considered very carefully by anyone who has the future of Africa, especially central Africa, at questions at heart" (Professor George Shepperson).




Competitive Authoritarianism


Book Description

Based on a detailed study of 35 cases in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and post-communist Eurasia, this book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes between 1990 and 2008. It finds that where social, economic, and technocratic ties to the West were extensive, as in Eastern Europe and the Americas, the external cost of abuse led incumbents to cede power rather than crack down, which led to democratization. Where ties to the West were limited, external democratizing pressure was weaker and countries rarely democratized. In these cases, regime outcomes hinged on the character of state and ruling party organizations. Where incumbents possessed developed and cohesive coercive party structures, they could thwart opposition challenges, and competitive authoritarian regimes survived; where incumbents lacked such organizational tools, regimes were unstable but rarely democratized.




An Introduction to Third World Theologies


Book Description

An overview of the main trends and contributions to Christian thought of Third World theologies.




Christianity in Malawi: A Source Book


Book Description

Many scholars have noted the importance of Christianity in Malawi and have written on the social, economic and political influence of the Christian faith. What is harder to find is a study of the nature of the faith, and an analysis of the inner logic of the religious consciousness which developed in Malawi as its peoples responded to the Christian message. By bringing forward a selection of key primary sources this book provides the opportunity to read the story of Malawian Christianity "from the inside." It allows some Malawian Christians to speak for themselves so that church history might be formed by listening directly and critically to voices from the past. This revised and expanded edition includes all the primary texts that appeared in the original 1996 version as well as six additional documents that extend the range of the collection.




Historical Dictionary of Malawi


Book Description

Malawi, established as the British protectorate of Nyasaland in 1891, gained its independence in 1964 and moved immediately into three decades of one-party rule. Since the mid-1990s, however, the country has held multi-party elections, as directed by its constitution, and President Bingu wa Mutharika is currently serving his second term. The fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of Malawi, now newly expanded and updated, covers a wide range of areas in Malawi history, including the rise and fall of state systems, religious and socio-political movements, the economy, environment, transportation, war, disease, and natural sciences. Author Owen J. M. Kalinga charts developments from pre-history to the post-Banda Malawi, from Tom Bokwito to James Sangala, and from the UMCA mission at Magomero to the second term of Bingu wa Mutharika's presidency, paying particular attention to the individuals, groups, communities, and forces that have molded this South African country. The dictionary itself contains over 1,000 cross-referenced entries on crucial aspects of Malawi history, and it is the most extensive single-volume reference work on Malawi available. In addition to the dictionary entries, Kalinga provides a chronology containing important dates and events and an informative bibliographical section organized by subject. The final part of the bibliography gives the reader a list of current and obsolete newspapers and periodicals related to Malawi, an ideal resource for further research. This newly updated edition is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Malawi.