Whoever wins Zambia’s 2021 general elections will face two key challenges: reviving the country’s democratic credentials and stimulating the economy. To achieve this, the new administration must have at least four priorities. These are regaining credibility with the international financiers, fighting corruption, curtailing the dominance of the executive branch of government, and ending the reign of terror by political party vigilantes, known as' cadres’[our emphasis](Resnick, 2021)

The assessment commences with a review and chronology of the history of cadreism in Zambia. The term could speak simply of supporters of any particular party, including elected representatives, but is increasingly used to denote groups of organised young men operating in the public sphere to deploy control and violence, and to collect fees at markets and bus stations. Equally, cadres often serve as groups of “security details” for politicians and are engaged in day-to-day campaigning and rent collection on behalf of political parties–predominantly the ruling party.