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Why is it that some ruling parties that were previously rebel movements deviate from the visions of state transformation that they had articulated when they were fighting? Were the groups never truly committed to the visions that they had used to mobilize recruits and sustain conflict? Do circumstances change after conflict, so that parties need to change their ideas in order to maintain widespread support from the population? Are there structural constraints that make state transformation impossible for these rebels-turned-ruling parties? This article examines these questions through the case of Burundi, where a former rebel movement, the Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie–Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie (CNDD-FDD – National Council for the Defence of Democracy–Forces for the Defence of Democracy), became a ruling party in 2005 after winning democratic elections following a lengthy civil war and peace process.
As a rebel movement, the CNDD-FDD had articulated a vision of the state based on particular notions of social justice, inclusion, democracy and reform. While there was ideological contestation within the movement and important internal divisions, the CNDD-FDD largely maintained this focus in its rhetoric during the 2005 electoral campaign. By 2015, however, the ruling CNDD-FDD faced protests, domestic – including intra-party – and international criticism, and a constitutional and governance crisis. The CNDD-FDD was widely criticized for widespread corruption, authoritarianism, inequality, intra-party purges and a reliance on violence. After 10 years of governance as a ruling party, the ideas that had animated the movement seemed to have disappeared. For instance, a 2018 CNDD-FDD communiqué did not explicitly reject previous ideas of inclusion, social justice and democracy but emphasized other aspects, such as personal loyalty to the president and unity. It said, ‘The CNDD-FDD party is . . . built on an ideology that promotes righteousness and loyalty’ (CNDD-FDD 2018: point 9, author’s translation).
This article explains the ideological trajectory of the CNDD-FDD and the apparent shift, from a rebel movement focused on social justice and state transformation, to a ruling party where governance is based on coercion, authoritarianism, loyalty and personal opportunism rather than ideological commitment. In doing so, the article contributes to a growing debate about the interplay between ideas and institutions in rebel-to-party transitions. Given the number and diversity...