Post-Apartheid Politics in South Africa

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses post-apartheid politics in South Africa. It begins by arguing that during the decade spanning 1994–2004, the African National Congress (ANC) was able to win resounding victories at the ballot box while demonstrating a strong commitment to democratic principles. The chapter then examines the second decade of ANC rule. Although the ANC secured a spectacular victory with 62 percent of the vote going into Thabo Mbeki’s second term of office, the chapter looks at the increasing cracks in the ANC’s unity and analyzes a number of examples of Mbeki’s wavering commitment to democratic principles. It also tracks the rise of Jacob Zuma, covering his rape trial and the violent masculinities it unleashed both in the wider body politic and within the governing Tripartite Alliance. Finally, the chapter explores the Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall movements, using them as a case study to understand the distorting effects of ANC dominance, not just on the state or in the formal political realm but in the politics of the everyday.