30 Years of Democracy in South Africa

Stream organisers: Fiona Anciano  (University of the Western Cape) & Shauna Mottiar  (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

April 2024 will mark thirty years since the transition from an apartheid state to democracy in South Africa. This stream will comprise three panels reflecting on three decades of democracy to bring together the critical scholarly work being produced on the subject and to provide a forum for discussions on the state of democracy in South Africa in the context of a global democratic deficit. The first panel will focus on elections and opposition politics to provoke discussions centred on shifts from a dominant party system to one led by coalitions. The second panel will examine democratic governance to probe practices of patronage and state capture. The third panel will interrogate the state of civil society and social citizenship to highlight discussions on inequality, transparency and accountability. 

Please contact the organisers if you have any questions about this stream.