The Development of Political Settlements in Tanzania: Implications for Social Cash Transfers

The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual and theoretical framework for the political settlement and dynamics of social contract relations in Tanzania. The political settlement approach is employed within a theoretical framework that has been developed and applied to analyse political processes related to economic policies and development in Africa and elsewhere. Our analysis focuses on the distribution of power in Tanzanian society. Social contract theory is used to examine different regimes’ relationships with Tanzania’s population from independence in 1961 until the mid-1990s, when liberal reforms were introduced. The study suggest that, despite changes in leadership regimes, political settlements in Tanzania have remained remarkably stable since independence, supported by a fairly consistent social contract-type relationship between the ruling CCM elites, the state, and Tanzanian citizens. The political settlement has evolved from centralized state socialism to a mixed economy, accompanied by a range of liberal reforms that have transformed the economy and governance, and introduced multiparty competition.