抄録
It is not merely what is visible that defines politics in much of Africa; rather, it is the hidden and
unspoken layers that demand attention. To grasp the forces shaping the democratic façade in Uganda— and across the continent—we must unravel the informal and often invisible threads that sustain clientelistic relations. In this study, I examine the subtle yet powerful dynamics that construct networks of trust within which anti-democratic practices endure and flourish. These undercurrents are essential for decoding power operations that extend beyond formal institutions. Clientelism is framed as a political evil perpetuated by ‘big men’ exploiting vulnerable ‘small people’; nonetheless, in Uganda, it constitutes a normalised, reproduced, and routinised system embedded within the state. I explain how clientelistic relations are tolerated and reproduced by the populations they exclude, transforming marginalisation into legitimate political transactions. Drawing on content analysis and autoethnographic reflections from over a decade of service in Uganda’s public sector, this study unpacks the cultural logic and informal networks that sustain regime survival. It examines how public goods—jobs, services, and political representation—are converted into private favours. Ultimately, this work invites a reconsideration of how exclusion persists not through the absence of participation but through its reproduction.
