State Capacity and Elite Enrichment in Uganda's Northeastern Periphery
In the mid-2000s, Uganda's authoritarian National Resistance Movement (NRM) regime set out to extend state control over Karamoja, a long-neglected region in the northeast of the country. This effort has involved large-scale deployment of security personnel, investment in an expansive administra...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2024-04-01
|
| Series: | Africa Spectrum |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397231211935 |
| _version_ | 1797211202791669760 |
|---|---|
| author | Karol Czuba |
| author_facet | Karol Czuba |
| author_sort | Karol Czuba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the mid-2000s, Uganda's authoritarian National Resistance Movement (NRM) regime set out to extend state control over Karamoja, a long-neglected region in the northeast of the country. This effort has involved large-scale deployment of security personnel, investment in an expansive administrative system used to subdue the local population, and construction of physical infrastructure that connects Karamoja with the rest of Uganda and facilitates the exploitation of the region's natural resources by members of the political elite. Government bodies in Karamoja capably perform functions that benefit the NRM elite and regime; other government responsibilities, notably for public service provision, have been assumed by non-state organisations. This article shows that the unevenness of state capacity in the region is the result of a coherent strategy that the regime has implemented across Uganda; developments in Karamoja illuminate this strategy and, thereby, help to account for the apparent incongruity of the country's political system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:22:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-552b4e6836e941d797d23a415669b366 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0002-0397 1868-6869 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:22:45Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Africa Spectrum |
| spelling | doaj.art-552b4e6836e941d797d23a415669b3662024-04-12T17:04:15ZengSAGE PublishingAfrica Spectrum0002-03971868-68692024-04-015910.1177/00020397231211935State Capacity and Elite Enrichment in Uganda's Northeastern PeripheryKarol CzubaIn the mid-2000s, Uganda's authoritarian National Resistance Movement (NRM) regime set out to extend state control over Karamoja, a long-neglected region in the northeast of the country. This effort has involved large-scale deployment of security personnel, investment in an expansive administrative system used to subdue the local population, and construction of physical infrastructure that connects Karamoja with the rest of Uganda and facilitates the exploitation of the region's natural resources by members of the political elite. Government bodies in Karamoja capably perform functions that benefit the NRM elite and regime; other government responsibilities, notably for public service provision, have been assumed by non-state organisations. This article shows that the unevenness of state capacity in the region is the result of a coherent strategy that the regime has implemented across Uganda; developments in Karamoja illuminate this strategy and, thereby, help to account for the apparent incongruity of the country's political system.https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397231211935 |
| spellingShingle | Karol Czuba State Capacity and Elite Enrichment in Uganda's Northeastern Periphery Africa Spectrum |
| title | State Capacity and Elite Enrichment in Uganda's Northeastern Periphery |
| title_full | State Capacity and Elite Enrichment in Uganda's Northeastern Periphery |
| title_fullStr | State Capacity and Elite Enrichment in Uganda's Northeastern Periphery |
| title_full_unstemmed | State Capacity and Elite Enrichment in Uganda's Northeastern Periphery |
| title_short | State Capacity and Elite Enrichment in Uganda's Northeastern Periphery |
| title_sort | state capacity and elite enrichment in uganda s northeastern periphery |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397231211935 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karolczuba statecapacityandeliteenrichmentinugandasnortheasternperiphery |