XXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Southern Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Swaziland under King Sobhuza II was governed through a powerful traditional monarchy whose authority expanded sharply after the constitution was suspended in April 1973. The king declared a state of emergency, concentrated power in his own hands, and authorized detention without trial. By 1977 he remained firmly in control, although dissatisfaction among teachers and tensions between the traditional hierarchy and educated urban populations were becoming more pronounced.
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Le récit
In April 1973, King Sobhuza II issued an order in council that suspended Swaziland’s constitution and declared a state of emergency. The measure vested all power in the king and permitted the detention of individuals for successive periods of sixty days without trial. It marked a decisive concentration of political authority within the monarchy.
The opposition leader, Dr A. P. Zwane, president of the Ngwane National Liberation Congress, was subsequently detained four times. By 1977, Sobhuza remained firmly in control. His authority rested not only on formal power but also on the immense personal influence he commanded within the kingdom’s traditional political order.
This authority did not eliminate social and political tensions. Teacher dissatisfaction appeared in mid-1976, while the cleavage deepened between the conservative traditional hierarchy governing through the Swazi National Council and increasingly educated, urbanized groups. The king, then nearly eighty, could still command a measure of consensus, but the durability of that consensus was becoming uncertain.
XXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Southern Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Swaziland under King Sobhuza II was governed through a powerful traditional monarchy whose authority expanded sharply after the constitution was suspended in April 1973. The king declared a state of emergency, concentrated power in his own hands, and authorized detention without trial. By 1977 he remained firmly in control, although dissatisfaction among teachers and tensions between the traditional hierarchy and educated urban populations were becoming more pronounced.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
In April 1973, King Sobhuza II issued an order in council that suspended Swaziland’s constitution and declared a state of emergency. The measure vested all power in the king and permitted the detention of individuals for successive periods of sixty days without trial. It marked a decisive concentration of political authority within the monarchy.
The opposition leader, Dr A. P. Zwane, president of the Ngwane National Liberation Congress, was subsequently detained four times. By 1977, Sobhuza remained firmly in control. His authority rested not only on formal power but also on the immense personal influence he commanded within the kingdom’s traditional political order.
This authority did not eliminate social and political tensions. Teacher dissatisfaction appeared in mid-1976, while the cleavage deepened between the conservative traditional hierarchy governing through the Swazi National Council and increasingly educated, urbanized groups. The king, then nearly eighty, could still command a measure of consensus, but the durability of that consensus was becoming uncertain.