Is populism surging into Botswana politics?

Friday, August 16, 2019

Despite the rising wave of populism across the world and the damage populists have done in both the East and the West, voters are increasingly falling for populist rhetoric and the leaders who peddle it.

The likes of India’s Narendra Modi, Indonesia’s Joko Widodo, the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte, US’ Donald Trump, Brazil’s Bolsonaro and now the UK’s Boris Johnson. How can responsible African leaders take the momentum out of populists’ sails?

The rise of populism has been the subject of countless debates and understandably so: populists’ misguided policies have had severely adverse political and economic consequences. Now, the risks associated with populism are approaching Botswana’s shores.

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