Are political parties an essential element of democracy? Or can a no-party system constitute a viable democratic alternative? Giovanni Carbone examines the politics of Museveni's Uganda to illustrate the achievements, contradictions, and limitations of participatory politics in the absence of partisan organizations. At a time when multiparty reforms were sweeping the globe, Uganda opted for a controversial, no-party democratic model. The country's politics over the past two decades thus provide an extraordinary opportunity for addressing the many questions - theoretical, empirical, and comparative - that the notion of a no-party system of elected government raises. Carbone's analysis of how a no-party electoral regime actually works (or doesn't) in Uganda fills a gap in both democracy studies and the study of African politics. This book draws on the Ugandan experience to illustrate the achievements, contradictions, and limitations of a no-party system of elected government.