Research Articles (Political Studies)

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Browsing by Author "Africa, Cherrel"

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    Assessing pre-election political space in the 2011 local government elections
    (Unisa Press, 2012) Africa, Cherrel; Lynch, Gerry
    The administration of elections in South Africa, including the 2011 local government elections(hereafter the 2011 elections), has widely been hailed as a resounding success. Yet competitive elections, an essential component of any democratic system, require more than smooth running administrative systems. Competitive elections require competitive campaigns and an environment where voters can vote and express their opinions without fear of retribution. In this article, we conduct a systematic assessment of pre-election space in the 2011 elections. We present a unique coding scheme developed by the Election Monitoring Network (EMN) to grade individual instances of electionrelated intolerance and intimidation. The coding scheme provides a framework to quantitatively assess a given campaign and election. We also present data on instances of pre-election intimidation and violence gathered by the EMN from 3 March until 13 May. The data reveal that whilst the vast majority of South Africans can vote and express their opinions without fear of retribution, there are underlying tensions which remain a cause for concern. When viewed in conjunction with the Afrobarometer survey data (2008) on perceptions of political space in South Africa, it becomes clear that pre-election campaign space is fragile and not given, and will therefore need to be nurtured in future elections.
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    Judgement and choice in the 1999 South African election
    (Taylor & Francis, 1999) Mattes, Robert; Taylor, Helen; Africa, Cherrel
    In this article, we set out the basic points of the theoretical framework of voter choice that underlie the Opinion '99 research project. In contrast to prevailing theories that have characterized voter choice in South Africa as an ethnic or racial census, this approach emphasizes the role of how voters learn about government performance and the alternatives offered by opposition parties. We then deduce a very simplified model that consciously excludes all 'structural' variables and includes only measures of voter evaluations of government performance and views of political parties and candidates. We use discriminant analysis (DA) to predict the partisan preferences of respondents from a nationally representative September 1998 survey with these measures. We find that the partisan choices of a very large majority of South Africans can be correctly predicted with this model.
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    The need for a new language? How historically disadvantaged institutions grapple with the effects of labelling in Higher Education: the case of the University of the Western Cape
    (Taylor & Francis, 2017) Africa, Cherrel; Mutizwa-Mangiza, Shingai
    Tertiary institutions in South Africa have been dichotomised through the colonial structure and apartheid which sought to subjugate some institutions and elevate others. Not only have historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs) faced a set of deep material difficulties, they have also had to grapple with the negative implications of naming. Using the work of Stryker and Burke as well as Bourdieu, this article interrogates the complexities of the HDI label for the University of the Western Cape. This is a complex issue because the same label can simultaneously provide access to state resources and inhibit opportunities from potential sponsors and employers. Unlike individuals who can hold multiple identities, institutions are expected to embrace a particular identity. Our conclusion is that we need to open the conversation about institutional labelling and develop a new language to describe former HDIs which should ideally acknowledge their difficult history without perpetuating stigma.
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    Party support and voter behaviour in the Western Cape: Trends and patterns since 1994
    (Sabinet, 2010) Africa, Cherrel
    Since 1994 election outcomes in the Western Cape have been examined through analyses of the ‘coloured vote’. These explanations, which are premised on the racially based motivations of voters, feed into the choices, rhetoric and behaviour of political parties. Besides inadvertently providing justification for racially inflammatory campaign strategies they allow parties to neglect their duty to give voters adequate information. In this article I provide an overview of voting trends and the political developments which have underpinned these patterns. I argue that it is not the nature of the electorate but national political developments and political parties, through their behaviour and campaigns, that are responsible for gains and losses and for the dramatic political changes in the province.
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    Reproducing toxic election campaigns: Negative campaigning and race-based politics in the Western Cape
    (Sabinet, 2015) Africa, Cherrel
    The 2014 election in the Western Cape was once again a high-stakes, fiercely-contested affair. Political parties saw the Western Cape as an ‘open race’ and the province became the centre of vigorous campaign efforts in the lead-up to the election. The African National Congress (ANC), which had lost control of the province because its vote share dropped from 45% in 2004 to 32% in 2009, hoped to unseat the Democratic Alliance (DA), which had won in 2009 by a very narrow margin (51%). The ANC felt that it had done enough to regain control of the province, especially in light of deep-seated disillusionment in many communities and the violent protests that took place prior to the election.While the ANC maintained its support base, winning votes from 33% of the provincial electorate, the type of identity-based campaign it pursued combined with other factors to work to the DA’s advantage.
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    Status quo entrenched and no surprises in the Western Cape
    (South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM), 2016) Africa, Cherrel
    Unlike previous elections in the province, there was an expectance that the Democratic Alliance (DA) would retain control of the City of Cape Town, as well as consolidate in other municipalities in the Western Cape. In the run-up to the 2016 local government election, the ANC, in the Western Cape put on a brave face indicating that it could unseat the DA. However, the 2016 election in the Western Cape saw an entrenchment of the status quo. Indeed, the story of the 2016 Local Government Election in the Western Cape is the story of the DA’s ascent and the ANC’s decline in the province. The DA consolidated its support base in the City of Cape Town from a comfortable majority of 61 percent, in 2011, securing a twothirds majority of 68 percent in 2016. In the rest of the Western Cape, the DA also consolidated its support base, winning in most municipalities with an outright majority and taking control of the balance through coalition agreements. The African National Congress (ANC), which had lost control of the city in 2006 when it was forced out of power through a DA-led coalition, saw its fortunes decline even further in 2016. The ANC no longer controls a single municipality in the Western Cape. This article examines electoral dynamics in the Western Cape, which saw the consolidation of DA support in the province.
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    Unpacking race, party and class from below: surveying citizenship in the Msunduzi Municipality
    (Elsevier, 2012) Piper, Laurence; Africa, Cherrel
    On the basis of a 2008 survey conducted in the Msunduzi municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province, the paper begins an exploration of the character of popular politics and citizenship in South Africa. Embracing a ‘citizen-centred’ methodology informed by participation literatures, and sensibilities to the ‘work in progress’ character of African cities from urban studies debates, the paper interrogates the mainstream liberal-participatory model of citizenship in South Africa, and the critiques of current South African politics informed by these notions, specifically the ‘racial census’ and ‘dominant party syndrome’ analyses. Taken together these views can be read as characterising South African politics as a game for individual citizens governed by liberal rules, but played by racial and/or partisan groups in exclusionary ways, thus distorting liberal democratic mechanisms of representation and accountability. The paper also examines evidence for an alternative class-based analysis of one aspect of citizenship, namely, protest against poor local governance. The paper looks to unpack this ‘liberal model versus racialised communitarian practice’ imaginary by, on the one hand, demonstrating the ways in which citizenship is not racialised, or is asymmetrically racialised. Indeed, other than party allegiances and trust in key offices, very little by way of what citizens do, believe or think of themselves follows discrete racial lines. Similar points hold for partisanship too. On the other hand, the paper does not redeem the liberal-democratic model as there is also evidence of trust in government when it is not deserved based on performance, but more importantly, evidence that citizens embrace ‘informal’ means to secure their rights. A good example of this is protestors who are also more likely to vote than non-protestors. Taken together, these findings affirm both the way in which the racial and partisan legacy of the past is being undone by new institutions and practices, and suggest the complex intersection of these with networks of personal relations which characterise the local politics of most African cities.