Student politics at Makerere University in the Lens of Schmitter and Streeck’s Framework: student leaders and political parties

Abstract

While the influence of political parties on student politics has been a topic of investigation for a long time, little research has been done in relation to Africa's young democracies and the re-emergence of multi-party politics in these countries. It is with this understanding that this study assesses a theoretical framework adapted from Schmitter and Streeck (1999) to explain the nature of the relationship between student politics and political parties in Uganda. The paper highlights need for changes to the Schmitter and Streeck framework to ensure better analysis of the relationship. The study finds that the recruitment of student cadres seems the most important function of party-political involvement in student politics, while student leaders gain goods and services as part of the benefits of their association with political parties. Additionally, while student leaders are influential in the weaker parties, there is still an element of party control over the leaders, particularly when student leaders expect to pursue a political career upon graduation. Finally, reflecting on the analysis, conceptual changes are proposed to the framework for a more critical analysis of student politics.

Campus Politics and Intra-Party Vote Buying in Ghana: How Political Mentorship Could Destruct

“…With the surge in a multi-party system, however, politicians in Africa see universities as critical outposts for building vibrant political clients to wrestle political power (Oanda, 2016b). Mugume and Luescher (2017) contend that the recruitment of student cadres seems to be the most important function of party-political involvement in student politics as parties scramble for numerical strength of membership in fledgling democracies in Africa.…”

“…Despite the (potential) positive impacts, student-party relations in most African countries have revealed a common trend in contemporary times. Mugume and Luescher (2017) aptly point to a reciprocal relationship between political parties and student leaders, using the case of Uganda. The latter generally receives items from the former, which are meant to directly influence student voters during campus campaigns and elections, and this distributive link continues after campus campaigns and even after graduation.…”

Pathways of Electoral Clientelism in University Student Elections in Ghana: An Exploratory Study

“…At the university student political front, existing empirical studies on electoral clientelism in Africa have primarily studied the clientelist linkages between student leaders and political parties (Abrefa Busia, 2019;Luescher-Mamashela & Mugume, 2014;Mugume, 2015;Mugume & Luescher, 2017a, 2017b. These studies focused exclusively on how political parties influence student leaders through resource exchanges for their external gains, subsequently infiltrating student politics.…”