Culture, hegemony, and dictatorship: Song, dance, and politics in Malawi, 1964--1994

Culture, Hegemony, and Dictatorship studies the role of popular culture in legitimizing and popularizing African political regimes, particularly dictatorships. It also examines how popular culture has sometimes been used to challenge authoritarianism in Africa. Using traditional and popular songs and dances from Malawi as an example, I demonstrate how former president-for-life and dictator in Malawi, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) used these materials to establish a cultural hegemony. I show that beyond and in addition to the use of repressive state machinery, the dictatorship of Banda and MCP propagated Kamuzuism as a hegemony ideology through songs and dances, and other forms of popular culture. Kamuzuism as a popularizing and legitimizing ideology helped sustain a dictatorship that survived thirty years in power, 1964-94. In other words, this project establishes culture, alongside economics subsidized by Western governments and repression as an important factor in the longevity of some of the post-independence dictatorships of Africa.