South African Democracy Research Articles

Black Political Thought in the Making of South African Democracy

Black Political Thought in the Making of South African Democracy

The Role of NGOs in Strengthening the Foundations of South African Democracy

This paper assesses the contribution of South African nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to the process of democratic consolidation. By drawing on a 1998 survey conducted among 270 NGOs, on several expert interviews, and on an analysis of the structures and programmes of the umbrella body of South African NGOs (Sangoco), the author presents a multi-faceted picture of the activities of the South African NGO sector. The focus is on the NGOs' role as (1) “schools of democracy,” (2) in bridging societal cleavages, and (3) in providing channels of interest representation for the most marginalized sections of the population. The paper concludes that the contribution of South African NGOs to the process of democratic consolidation is significant, but highly dependent on an enabling external environment.

Black political thought in the making of South African democracy

Foreword Chapter 1: Nationality and Race Chapter 2: Racial Proletarianization: Movements in the Evolution of A Concept Chapter 3: Liberalism, Populism, and Socialism Chapter 4: A New Left Battles Apartheid Chapter 5: The Black Republican Synthesis Chapter 6: An Enduring Duality

C.R.D. Halisi. Black Political Thought in the Making of South African Democracy. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Abstract

The South African Constitution requires men to be feminist

Can a man be a feminist? If so, what would it mean? I want to participate in a dialogue between women and men on how to accommodate women's moral concerns. I propose that the fundamental values of justice embodied in the South African constitutional democracy require men to be feminist. These values provide the best safeguard of the important interests and values of both women and men. Men who accept these values can support the main concerns of feminism. The implications of the argument in this article range from public issues to the most private aspects of marriage.

Black Political Thought in the Making of South African Democracy (review)

Black Political Thought in the Making of South African Democracy (review)

Press Freedom and Citizen Agency in South Africa: A Rhetorical Approach

South African democracy, in stark contrast to the apartheid regime, holds freedom of expression to be a fundamental, entrenched right. This is one of the hardwon victories of the negotiated revolution of 1990 to 1994. Freedom of expression, and its corollaries, such as freedom of the press, are embedded in a new culture of democratic deliberation that truly permeates the South African public sphere. Citizen agency is put to the test in how expression of values is activated in the media. Three sites have been carved out for the purpose of this article. First, how public engagement strategies are devised and proposed in the glossy, lifestyle and fashion magazines, usually not associated with democratic transformation and agency. Second, how mass circulation newspapers have elaborated a standard reporting procedure (supplements) by which the nation is given a voice — and one that is staged as being both public and deliberative about its own freedom of expression. Third, a bulletin for mass consumption that accompanied the writing of the new Constitution. Citizens in the making were made to argue and invent the public sphere. All three sites share a fundamental belief that citizen agency is rooted in what is called a “plasmatic” strategy by which the simulacra of autonomy do help foster public agency.

Globalization, pharmaceutical pricing, and South African health policy: managing confrontation with U.S. firms and politicians.

Brewing since the advent of South African democracy in 1994 and promises of health sector transformation, an extraordinary drug war between President Nelson Mandela's African National Congress government and U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers took on global proportions in 1998-1999. Within months of the passage of South African legislation aimed at lowering drug prices, the U.S. government quickly applied powerful pressure points to repeal a clause allowing potential importation of generic substitutes and imposition of compulsory licensing. At stake were not only local interpretations of patent law and World Trade Organization rules on Trade in Intellectual Property, but international power relations between developing countries and the pharmaceutical industry. In reviewing the ongoing debate, this article considers post-apartheid public health policy, U.S. government pressure to change the law, and pharmaceutical industry interests and links to the U.S. government, and evaluates various kinds of resistance to U.S. corporate and government behavior. The case thus raises--not for the first time--concerns about contemporary imperialism ("globalization"), the role of the profit motive as an incentive in vital pharmaceutical products, and indeed the depth of "democracy" in a country where high-bidding international drug firms have sufficient clout to embarrass Vice President Al Gore by pitting him against the life-and-death interests of millions of consumers of essential drugs in South Africa and other developing countries.

South African democracy: Majoritarian or consociational?

(1998). South African democracy: Majoritarian or consociational? Democratization: Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 144-150.

Support for the rule of law in the emerging South African democracy*

Support for the rule of law in the emerging South African democracy*

South African Democracy Revisited: A Reply to Koelble and Reynolds

South African Democracy Revisited: A Reply to Koelble and Reynolds

Transition politics and the prospects of democratic consolidation in South Africa

ABSTRACT The paper explores the prospects of the fledgling South African democracy to stabilize into a lasting one. On the assumption, offered by Karl & Schmitter, that the mode of transition is a significant determinant of democratic consolidation, a conceptual model developed by them is used to analyze the type and possibilities of the South African transition. Characterizing this transition as a combination of “pacting” and “reform” provides a mixed type without clear and simple possibilities. In terms of the authors’ conclusions, such a mode simultaneously refers to the most successful (elite‐driven) and least successful (mass‐driven) types. These conclusions are considered within the South African context.

Constructing a Culture of Consent: Dilemmas in the Making of a South African Democracy

Constructing a Culture of Consent: Dilemmas in the Making of a South African Democracy

Book Reviews : Constructing a Culture of Consent: Dilemmas in the Making of a South African Democracy A Review Article: Donald L. Horowitz, A Democratic South Africa? Constitutional Engineering in a Divided Society. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford

Book Reviews : Constructing a Culture of Consent: Dilemmas in the Making of a South African Democracy A Review Article: Donald L. Horowitz, A Democratic South Africa? Constitutional Engineering in a Divided Society. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford

Die rol van die pers in die nuwe Suid- Afrikaanse politieke bedeling / The role of the press in the new South African political dispensation

The author briefly sketches the new political dispensation in South Africa and then argues that the mass media, and especially the press, play a role of cardinal importance in the political forum. As far as press and democracy are concerned, the author distinguishes between “majority democracy” and “concensus democracy” and proceeds to illustrate the part the press plays and should play in a South African concensus democracy, i.e. attention to concensus politics instead of conflict politics. A new press style is called for in the new South African political dispensation. The author discusses press freedom within this context and concludes that the press should promote understanding and not instigate conflict.

The press in a South African democracy or oligarchy?

The press in a South African democracy or oligarchy?

The South African Democracy Education Trust's ‘Road to Democracy’ Project: Areas of Focus and Methodological Issues

This article summarises the story of the production of the historical volumes by the South African Democracy Education Trust (SADET). SADET was established after former president Thabo Mbeki expressed concern that there was very limited research done on the achievement of a peaceful political settlement in South Africa after decades of violent conflict. SADET's mission is, and has been to conduct a major study of South Africa's political history between 1960 and 1994. The focus of the article is on the project's editorial structure and on its research methodology, particularly the benefits and limitations of the use of oral interviews as the main research tool.

Kaffirs Are Lively

Kaffirs Are Lively Get access Kaffirs are Lively. Being some Backstage Impressions of the South African Democracy. By Oliver Walker. 1948. (London: Victor Gollancz. 7½″ × 5″. 240 pp. Index. Map. 7s. 6d.) W. H. Clark W. H. Clark Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 24, Issue 4, October 1948, Page 616, https://doi.org/10.2307/3017700 Published: 01 October 1948

South African Democ(k)racy

South African Democ(k)racy