The conditions for democracy in a future South Africa
Date
1989-10-16
Authors
Stadler, Alfred William
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Abstract
It is not inconceivable that the formal institutions of democracy, with
universal adult suffrage in a unitary state at the centre, will be
introduced in South Africa in the foreseeable future. It is also not
beyond the bounds of probability that these formal institutions will be
overtaken by a coup d'etat, or a one-party dictatorship which will
subordinate or suppress opposition and dissent.
This paper is concerned to investigate the most propitious conditions for
a stable future democracy in South Africa. Like other similar
undertakings, the paper is primarily based on comparative studies rather
than on South African political, economic or social material. The main
conditions which will be investigated are social, or socio-economic;
political; and institutional. The political conditions will be discussed
in two intimately related contexts: the one focused on policy, and the
other on political power. But it will also become clear that it disputes
the assumption made in the earlier literature that it is possible neatly
to separate political conditions from social ones, or to assume that the
chains of causality can be arranged in a linear fashion.
The paper hopefully contributes to political debates going on in this
country. It therefore has a political purpose. It also makes the
assumption that academic debate may contribute meaningfully to desirable
political ends. However, the paper does not, except in a superficial and
piecemeal way, consider the extent to which South African conditions
provide evidence of emergent properties conducive to democratic
stability, or otherwise.
Description
African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 16 October 1989. Not to be quoted without the Author's permission.
Keywords
South Africa. Politics and government, 1989-1994