Join us for a Discussion hosted by the Afrikaner Africa Initiative, and supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
TOPIC: “UNITY IN DIVERSITY – DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN A PLURAL SOCIETY”
Date: 17 October 2022
Time: 08h00 for 08h30 to 17h00
Venue: The Wanderers Club, Boundary venue, 21 North Street, Illovo Johannesburg, 2196 (physical attendance is by invitation only.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88224843435?pwd=eFJYVHIvS1lYclJnVGlhZSs3b2xhdz09
Meeting ID: 882 2484 3435 Passcode: 370340
Background
Democratic consolidation is the process by which a new democracy matures, in a way that it becomes unlikely to revert to authoritarianism, and is regarded as the only available system of government within a country. This is the case when no significant political group seriously seeks to overthrow the democratic regime, the democratic system is regarded as the most appropriate way to govern by the vast majority of the public, and conflicts are resolved through established political and constitutional rules.
Consolidation secures the future of democratic politics and norms and protects the differences and complexities of different groups and diverse populations in a state. If not accommodated, ethnic, linguistic and other divisions can undermine democratic consolidation. The greater the extent to which the population of a state is composed of a plurality of ethnic, linguistic, religious, or cultural groups, the more complex the politics becomes.
Democratic consolidation under siege
South Africa is a constitutional democracy with regularly contested elections, an independent judiciary and media, a vibrant civil society, and – at least in de jure terms – numerous state institutions protecting democracy. Yet, the country’s constitutional democracy is under increasing strain. Examples include:
- A 2021 Afrobarometer survey found low (and declining) public trust in state institutions, with two-thirds of South Africans stating they are willing to give up elections if a non-elected government could provide security, housing, and jobs. Nearly half (46%) said they would be “very willing” to do so, with higher levels of support among younger and more educated respondents. For the first time in Afrobarometer’s surveys, only a minority (43%) expressed trust in courts of law. Some two-thirds (66%) of respondents reported not trusting the police.
- Growing levels of vigilantism and xenophobia. According to the South African Police Service, one-in-thirteen murders are the result of vigilantism. • Widespread political assassinations. There’s been a marked increase in the number of assassinations since 2015. Of the 418 political assassinations recorded nationwide between 2000 and 2021, over 200 took place in the last seven years.
- The increasing number of service delivery protests, especially since 2018 when post-apartheid South Africa entered a period of unprecedented political unrest, culminating in the “insurrection” of July 2021.
- The consequences and aftermath of “state capture” during which time an estimated R1.5trn – around a third of South Africa’s GDP – was looted from the country and its citizens. These direct financial costs do not cover the significant loss of public trust by South Africans in the state, its institutions and the rule of law, and the long-term harm is done to municipal and national government service delivery capacity.
Plight of minorities
A 2018 Institute of Race Relations (IRR) survey on race relations in South Africa revealed minorities under siege with disconcerting views about race relations, racism directed at them, and the future role of whites in South Africa. Survey findings include the following:
- Almost two-thirds (64%) of black respondents thought race relations had improved since 1994, with 20% feeling they had gotten worse. Minority groups expressed concerns about deterioration, with 51% of coloured people, 44% of Indian respondents, and 47% of whites saying that race relations have become worse since 1994.
- When asked whether they had “ever personally experienced racism that was directed at them”, 58% of respondents overall said they had never personally experienced racism. The proportion of black respondents who said they had not personally experienced racism was higher, at 64% (with 36% who had experienced such racism). Personal experience of racism was highest among coloureds (70%), Indians (56%), and whites (52%).
- When asked whether they agreed that “South Africa today is a country for black Africans, and white people must learn to take second place”, among respondents in general, 54% agreed that South Africa is a country for black people in which whites must take second place. Among black respondents, support for this perspective was stronger still, with 62% endorsing it. Minority groups strongly disagreed with the idea that whites must take second place, with 63% of coloured people rejecting it, along with 75% of both Indians and whites.
Minorities and democratic consolidation
- Withdrawal from public life.
- Dwindling numbers in the public service.
- Racist and anti-minority utterances by leading black politicians, including those in the ruling ANC and EFF. – Emigration – an obstacle to democratic consolidation is the loss of skills, in which high-skilled workers from developing countries migrate to high-income and capital-rich developed countries. See: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10402659.2013.759781?journalCode=cper20.