Political Parties in South Africa : Do they Undermine or Underpin Democracy?

Political parties and the party system that underpins South Africa's democracy have the potential to build a cohesive and prosperous nation. But in the past few years the ANC's dominance has strained the system and tested it and its institutions' fortitude. There are deeper issues of accountability that often spurn the Constitution and there is also a clear need to foster meaningful public participation and transparency. This volume offers a different and detailed assessment of the health of South Africa's political system. This study intends to unravel the condition of the party system in South Africa and culminates in the question: Do South African parties promote or hinder democracy in the country? The areas of the party system that are known to require continued work are the weakness of democratic structures within parties, the perceived lack of responsibility of elected parliamentarians towards voters, non-transparent private partner financing structures and a lack of attractiveness of party-political commitment, especially for women. Experts in the respective fields address all of these areas in this book. -- Provided by publisher Cover Title page Copyright page Contents Acknowledgements About the Contributors Acronyms Foreword Preface. South Africa’s Complex Party System after the 2016 Local Government Elections Introduction CHAPTER 1 - Whither the ANC’s Dominance? Waning Electoral Dominance, Rising Hegemonic Dominance INTRODUCTION LEVELS OF DOMINANCE GROWING OPPOSITION POOR GOVERNANCE, RISING HEGEMONIC DOMINANCE AND PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF POOR PERFORMANCE CONCLUSION ENDNOTES CHAPTER 2 - The Need to Reform the Electoral System in South Africa. A Constitutional Engineering Perspective INTRODUCTION THE TRUSTEE THEORY OF REPRESENTATION THE CONSTITUENCY DELEGATE THEORY OF REPRESENTATION THE PARTY MANDATE THEORY OF REPRESENTATION THE RESEMBLANCE THEORY OF REPRESENTATION SOME COMMENTS ON THE PRESENT CLOSED PARTY LIST PR SYSTEM THE SLABBERT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO SOUTH AFRICA’S ELECTORAL SYSTEM RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES TO BE MADE TO THE PRESENT SYSTEM WHAT ABOUT PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURES? ELECTORAL ENGINEERING: LIMITS CONCLUSION ENDNOTES CHAPTER 3 - Women, the Electoral System and Political Parties INTRODUCTION WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION AND THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM PARTY STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING FEMALE REPRESENTATIVES EQUALITY RHETORIC PROMOTING EQUALITY EQUALITY GUARANTEES CONCLUSION ENDNOTES CHAPTER 4 - Political Parties and Political Leadership. Sewing Reconciliation or Division? THE BROAD CONTEXT GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT AND ITS EFFECT ON ELECTIONS TONY LEON: REINVENTING THE DP, CREATING THE DA AND CAPTURING WHITE SUPPORT MANAGING THE ANC’S OMNIBUS: THABO MBEKI AND JACOB ZUMA CONCLUSION ENDNOTES CHAPTER 5 - Do Political Parties Still Shift Public Opinion? THE RISE AND FALL – AND FALL ... – OF POLITICAL PARTIES 2016 ELECTION PREDICTION THE MOOD IN THE COUNTRY IS BECOMING MORE DESPONDENT THE FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA: CHILDREN’S PROSPECTS AND STANDARDS ‘THERE IS NO POLITICAL PARTY THAT REPRESENTS MY VIEWS’ SOME REASONS WHY VOTERS STAYED AWAY IN AUGUST 2016 INTEREST IN POLITICS AND LIKELIHOOD TO VOTE CAN THE PARTY AGENDA BECOME THE ‘PEOPLE’S AGENDA’? WHAT ARE THE MAIN DRAW-CARDS FOR POLITICAL PARTIES? GOING FORWARD ENDNOTES CHAPTER 6 - Securing Their Future. Using Election Campaigns to Safeguard the Party System INTRODUCTION INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTS ELECTORAL SYSTEMS CONTROLLING PARTY FINANCE MEDIA ACCESS CAMPAIGN TACTICS TO MOVE AND MOTIVATE VOTERS TARGETING TURNOUT POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS: USING DATA AND MESSAGING TO MANOEUVRE SUPPORT CONCLUSION ENDNOTES CHAPTER 7 - Political Parties and Their Capacity to Provide Parliamentary Oversight INTRODUCTION BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT AND THE SEPARATION OF POWERS PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS THE NKANDLA SAGA AND PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT CONCLUSION ENDNOTES CHAPTER 8 - ANC Hegemony. Social and Economic Ramifications for South Africa INTRODUCTION SITUATING ANC HEGEMONY ECONOMIC COMPONENT THE ANC AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY CONCLUSION ENDNOTES CHAPTER 9 - The African National Congress and South Africa’s Foreign Policy and Diplomacy. A Decolonial African Perspective INTRODUCTION WHY IS THE ANC INFLUENCE NEGLECTED IN SOUTH AFRICAN FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS? THE ANC AND THE IDEA OF FOREIGN POLICY IN CONCENTRIC CIRCLES A DIPLOMACY OF SOLIDARITY THE SANCTITY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS FOR ANC INFLUENCE ON GOVERNMENT POSITIONS CONCLUSION ENDNOTES CONCLUSION - Moving South Africa Forward? TESTING OPTIONS PEOPLE’S POWER? DOES THE PARTY SYSTEM UNDERPIN OR UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY? ENDNOTES Back cover