Civil Society and the Zuma Government

Civil Society and the Zuma Government PDF Author: Yvette Geyer
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 1920409106
Category : Civil society
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
A healthy democracy needs a government that understands that it has to share some of its power with civil society, the realm in which citizens acquire a voice, enabling them to ensure that government responds to their needs and is accountable to them in an ongoing representative manner beyond the ballot box. The public debate on whether there are centralist impulses evident in the ANC as the dominant electoral force raises questions about the nature of democracy and the state of South Africa. Is there a danger of government distinguishing between development and democracy and acting as if they are mutually exclusive? African democracy institute Idasa and the International Development Research Centre held a roundtable discussion, of which this publication is the result, on the role of civil society, the areas of involvement for civil society, the policy recommendations to be made and areas of research need to be explored.

Civil Society and the Zuma Government

Civil Society and the Zuma Government PDF Author: Yvette Geyer
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 1920409106
Category : Civil society
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
A healthy democracy needs a government that understands that it has to share some of its power with civil society, the realm in which citizens acquire a voice, enabling them to ensure that government responds to their needs and is accountable to them in an ongoing representative manner beyond the ballot box. The public debate on whether there are centralist impulses evident in the ANC as the dominant electoral force raises questions about the nature of democracy and the state of South Africa. Is there a danger of government distinguishing between development and democracy and acting as if they are mutually exclusive? African democracy institute Idasa and the International Development Research Centre held a roundtable discussion, of which this publication is the result, on the role of civil society, the areas of involvement for civil society, the policy recommendations to be made and areas of research need to be explored.

From Revolution to Rights in South Africa

From Revolution to Rights in South Africa PDF Author: Steven L. Robins
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1847012019
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
The author argues for the continued importance of NGOs, social movements and other 'civil society' actors in creating new forms of citizenship and democracy in South Africa. Critics of liberalism in Europe and North America argue that a stress on 'rights talk' and identity politics has led to fragmentation, individualisation and depoliticisation. But are these developments really signs of 'the end ofpolitics'? In the post-colonial, post-apartheid, neo-liberal new South Africa poor and marginalised citizens continue to struggle for land, housing and health care. They must respond to uncertainty and radical contingencies on a daily basis. This requires multiple strategies, an engaged, practised citizenship, one that links the daily struggle to well organised mobilisation around claiming rights. Robins argues for the continued importance of NGOs, socialmovements and other 'civil society' actors in creating new forms of citizenship and democracy. He goes beyond the sanitised prescriptions of 'good governance' so often touted by development agencies. Instead he argues for a complex, hybrid and ambiguous relationship between civil society and the state, where new negotiations around citizenship emerge. Steven L. Robins is Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Stellenbosch and editorof Limits to Liberation after Apartheid (James Currey). Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland): University of KwaZulu-Natal Press (PB)

Enemy of the People

Enemy of the People PDF Author: Adriaan Basson
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1868428192
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
Enemy of the People is the first definitive account of Zuma's catastrophic misrule, offering eyewitness descriptions and cogent analysis of how South Africa was brought to its knees – and how a people fought back. When Jacob Zuma took over the leadership of the ANC one muggy Polokwane evening in December 2007, he inherited a country where GDP was growing by more than 6% per annum, a party enjoying the support of two-thirds of the electorate, and a unified tripartite alliance. Today, South Africa is caught in the grip of a patronage network, the economy is floundering and the ANC is staring down the barrel of a defeat at the 2019 general elections. How did we get here? Zuma first brought to heel his party, Africa's oldest and most revered liberation movement, subduing and isolating dissidents associated with his predecessor Thabo Mbeki. Then saw the emergence of the tenderpreneur and those attempting to capture the state, as well as a network of family, friends and business associates that has become so deeply embedded that it has, in effect, replaced many parts of government. Zuma opened up the state to industrial-scale levels of corruption, causing irreparable damage to state enterprises, institutions of democracy, and the ANC itself. But it hasn't all gone Zuma's way. Former allies have peeled away. A new era of activism has arisen and outspoken civil servants have stepped forward to join a cross-section of civil society and a robust media. As a divided ANC square off for the elective conference in December, where there is everything to gain or to lose, award-winning journalists Adriaan Basson and Pieter du Toit offer a brilliant and up-to-date account of the Zuma era.

The Role of Civil Society in Democracy Consolidation. Rethinking State-Civil Society Relations in South Africa

The Role of Civil Society in Democracy Consolidation. Rethinking State-Civil Society Relations in South Africa PDF Author: Joseph Nangombe Tobias
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783346010322
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Academic Paper from the year 2019 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Africa, grade: 67.5, University of Namibia, course: State and Civil Society, language: English, abstract: This essay appraises civil society's relations with the state in south africa in recent times. It focuses on democratic consideration and argues that despite relative weaknesses in civil societies in Africa recently, they continue to play a major role in maintaining and protecting democratic standards and Human Rights in South Africa. Recent events involving former president Jacob Zuma are a case in point of this article. It is argued that civil society is and will continue to be crucial in democratic consolidation and will therefore ensure its survival despite its uphill battle. The paper concludes that civil society's action inSouth Africa should set an example for other African nations on the powers and activism of civil society organisations and their roles in holding government accountable.

Testing Democracy

Testing Democracy PDF Author: Neeta Misra-Dexter
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 1920409386
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
The book interrogates the relationship between democracy and development and how underdevelopment prevents citizens from participating in democracy. Section One is a collection of experts writing on key issues such as the single-party state; development policy; poverty, inequality and growth; the institutions of governance; the public service; and the role of civil society. Section Two, Idasas Democracy Index 2010, releases Idasas findings on Participation, Elections, Accountability, Political Freedom, Human Dignity and Democracy. The third in Idasas Democracy Index series, this book argues that democracy needs economic development along with an embedded system of institutions, supported by active citizens and a vibrant political culture.

Civil Society Organisations and State-Owned Enterprises in South Africa: Promoting Accountability and Corporate Governance

Civil Society Organisations and State-Owned Enterprises in South Africa: Promoting Accountability and Corporate Governance PDF Author: Gudo, Julieth
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040031560
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
This book examines the important role which civil society organisations in South Africa play in challenging poor corporate governance in state-owned enterprises and demanding better government accountability, transparency and citizen participation. The book provides a powerful examination of the shortcomings in corporate governance in South Africa's state-owned enterprises, highlighting how civil society organisations, as citizen representatives, can push for change. It examines the legal provisions used by civil society organisations in South Africa to advance good corporate governance and accountability in state-owned enterprises. The book demonstrates the need for an enabling legal environment for civil society organisations to challenge poor governance in state-owned enterprises. Also critical is enforcing laws, so those responsible for poor corporate governance in SOEs are held accountable. The book will be useful to policy advisors, public servants and social justice activists, as well as to postgraduate students and researchers who are interested in African governance and accountability.

Civic Agency in Africa

Civic Agency in Africa PDF Author: Ebenezer Obadare
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 1847010865
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Examines the variety of mostly unorganized and informal ways in which Africans exercise agency and resist state power in the 21st century, through citizen action and popular culture, and how the relationship between ruler and ruled is being reframed.

Who Rules South Africa?

Who Rules South Africa? PDF Author: Martin Plaut
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 186842426X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 572

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Book Description
In this timely work, WHO RULES SOUTH AFRICA?, highly regarded authors Paul Holden and Martin Plaut analyse the political elites that battle daily for power in South Africa. They argue that power does not reside in traditional institutions such as Parliament or even the Cabinet. Rather, power lies within the ANC-led Alliance which, with no founding document and no written constitution, is an unstructured and mutable political hydra with business and criminal elements in close attendance. It is the interaction between these forces which is the real story behind post-apartheid South Africa. In a country where poverty is rampant and institutions are weak, the battle for power is set to intensify. The authors unravel the mystery of how the rainbow nation has reached such a pass. What are the origins of the Alliance, and will it survive the current power struggles? Who are the shadowy forces that operate within or alongside the Alliance? Most importantly, they seek to answer the burning question of whether South Africa is destined to become another African tragedy, or whether there is still the promise of growth and a stable democracy.

Turning and Turning

Turning and Turning PDF Author: Judith February
Publisher: Pan Macmillan South africa
ISBN: 1770105743
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
South Africans often are deeply polarised in our perspectives of the present and the past. Our ‘ways of seeing’ are fraught with division, and we fail to understand the complexities when we do not see what lies beneath the surface. There is no denying that the Jacob Zuma presidency took a significant toll on South Africa, exacerbating tensions and exposing the deep fractures that already exist in our society along the lines of race, class and even ethnicity. The Zuma years were marked by cases of corruption and state capture, unprecedented in their brazenness, and increased social protests – many of which were accompanied by violence – aggressive public discourse, lack of respect for reason and an often disturbing resistance to meaningful engagement. Importantly, those years also placed enormous pressure on our democratic institutions, many of which still bear the scars, and challenged the sovereignty of the Constitution itself. As an analyst and governance specialist at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) for twelve years, February has had a unique perch. Turning and turning is a snapshot of her IDASA years and the issues tackled, which included work on the arms deal and its corrosive impact on democratic institutions, IDASA’s party-funding campaign, which February helped lead, as well as work on accountability and transparency. Combining analytical insight with personal observations and experience, February highlights the complex process of building a strong democratic society, and the difficulties of living in a constitutional democracy marked by soaring levels of inequality. There is a need to reflect on and learn from the country’s democratic journey if citizens are to shape our democracy effectively and to fulfill the promise of the Constitution for all South Africans.

After Apartheid

After Apartheid PDF Author: Ian Shapiro
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813931010
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Democracy came to South Africa in April 1994, when the African National Congress won a landslide victory in the first free national election in the country’s history. That definitive and peaceful transition from apartheid is often cited as a model for others to follow. The new order has since survived several transitions of ANC leadership, and it averted a potentially destabilizing constitutional crisis in 2008. Yet enormous challenges remain. Poverty and inequality are among the highest in the world. Staggering unemployment has fueled xenophobia, resulting in deadly aggression directed at refugees and migrant workers from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Violent crime rates, particularly murder and rape, remain grotesquely high. The HIV/AIDS pandemic was shockingly mishandled at the highest levels of government, and infection rates continue to be overwhelming. Despite the country’s uplifting success of hosting Africa’s first World Cup in 2010, inefficiency and corruption remain rife, infrastructure and basic services are often semifunctional, and political opposition and a free media are under pressure. In this volume, major scholars chronicle South Africa’s achievements and challenges since the transition. The contributions, all previously unpublished, represent the state of the art in the study of South African politics, economics, law, and social policy.