Donors, dependency, and political crisis in Malawi

On 20 July 2011 violence erupted across Malawi. Thousands marched in the three regional capitals – Mzuzu, Lilongwe, and Blantyre – protesting against fuel shortages, taxes, and political oppression. The police and the army were deployed to restore order and 19 civilians lost their lives in the ensuing clashes.1 The UK Department for International Development (DfID) had already suspended aid to Malawi. Following the rioting the US government followed suit and a number of other donors confirmed indefinite suspensions.2 In the months building up to the protest, Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika appeared to give little credence to the warnings issued by foreign donors about his administration.3 However, in September 2011 he sent delegations to Washington DC and to Europe to discuss terms upon which foreign aid to Malawi might resume.4 These events engage with a common theme in African politics; the tension between consistency and change, the extent to which the same patterns and logics repeat themselves.5 Whilst by no means a facsimile of the past, the current crisis in Malawi bears more than a little resemblance to history. This briefing explores the political dynamics of 2011, noting how dependence has delimited the scope of politics in the past and suggesting that recent events are best understood as a further expression of dependency relations.