Publication of book by Dr Emmanuel Matambo

A book by Dr Emmanuel Matambo, CACS Director of Research, titled Zambia’s Youths and the 2021 General Election: Rescuing Democracy through Activism and Social Media was published in February 2025. The publishers are Lexington Books, a division of the major academic publishers Rowman & Littlefield.

Backtext

In this volume, Emmanuel Matambo examines democracy in Zambia and shows how Zambia’s youth voters became the central focus during the 2021 election. Matambo analyzes the importance of social media leading up to the election, as well as the role of music, youth protests, and the youths influence on registered voters, that allowed for the end of the Patriotic Front’s (PF) decade in power.

Through interviews and qualitative data, he highlights the outspokenness and activism of the youth and how they went above and beyond to ensure that the United Party for National Development (UPND) won the election.

Further, this book argues that the large number of votes for the UPND during the election was not due to enthusiastic support from the voters, but rather was a rejection of the PF and was support for the party that had the most chance of ousting the PF. Matambo provides a detailed discussion of Zambia’s 2021 election and reflects on the power of the youth vote.

Reviews

The potential for young citizens to either strengthen or undermine democracy is a live and critical issue in African politics. This fascinating book provides new answers––and raises challenging new questions––about how the interaction between young societies, social media and democracy will play out in Zambia and beyond. — Nic Cheeseman, University of Birmingham.

By documenting the role that the young voters played in the 2021 general elections in Zambia, Matambo’s book is a tribute to the youths and resilience of democracy. While numerous studies have shown that globally democracy has been backsliding, the youth in Zambia demonstrated that democracy can be resilient, by driving out a corrupt and authoritarian regime using popular mobilisation on social media. This book will remain relevant for many years to come. —  O’Brien Kaaba, University of Zambia.