Department of Political Studies

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The 2013 Election in Zimbabwe: The end of an era
(Routledge Taylor Francis Group, 2013) Raftopoulos, Brian
The July 31st 2013 Elections in Zimbabwe ushered in a renewed period of political domination by ZANU(PF) and its President, Robert Mugabe. This election followed five years of a SADC- facilitated Global Political Agreement (GPA), which was put into place after a contested presidential run-off election in June 2008. The recent elections, which once again established ZANU(PF)’s mastery over the country’s political domain, were passed as free and peaceful by SADC and the African Union but contested by both Movement for Democratic Change parties and the western countries.While there were clear problems in the process leading to the election, it is also apparent that this was not the only factor that determined ZANU(PF)’S ‘victory’. This article provides an analysis of the multiple factors that contributed to the current conjuncture including the different party strategies under the GPA, changes in Zimbabwe’s political economy and interventions at regional and international levels.
Africa's contribution to the humanitarian approach of nuclear weapons disarmament : Pelindaba Treaty
(University of the Western Cape, 2016) Mhone, Peggy S; Pretorius, Joelien
This thesis attempts to assess the role Africa has played to further the humanitarian approach to nuclear weapons disarmament. Particular focus is on the Pelindaba Treaty and whether it has been able to strengthen the call for disarmament based on the humanitarian approach. The findings of this research are that the Pelindaba treaty did contribute indirectly to the strengthening of the humanitarian initiative of nuclear weapons disarmament because the Treaty serves as an important contribution towards the achievement of a world without nuclear weapons, which is the key objective of the humanitarian initiative of nuclear weapons disarmament. In addition, the Pelindaba Treaty has also contributed in strengthening the call for overall nuclear disarmament. This is the case as 53 states signed the treaty to rid the continent of nuclear weapons and any direct threats associated with those weapons. In so doing, it has contributed greatly to disarmament efforts. A nuclear weapons free zone across the continent is a powerful statement about the desire for a nuclear free world. It has provided African states with a foundation for engaging in the humanitarian initiative, as it led to some standardisation of statements/positions. Also, since the inception of the humanitarian approach to disarmament, African states have contributed greatly to the initiative. In terms of numbers, in the three conferences on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons use that have taken place between 2013 and 2014 (in Oslo, Nayarit and Vienna), it was witnessed that the number of participating African states increased from 34 in the first meeting to 45 in the last meeting. This alone indicates the determination and commitment by these African states to the initiative. Conclusively, this research determined that the Pelindaba Treaty and efforts of African states in general have contributed towards strengthening the call for not only the humanitarian initiative to nuclear weapons disarmament but also to disarmament overall.
African peacekeeping and African integration: Current challenges
(RUDN University, 2020) Gottschalk, Keith
Peacekeeping and economic union are the two most important dimensions of African integration. The first section of this article aims to analyse some current challenges to African peacekeeping, peacemaking, and African integration. The continuing Libyan civil war epitomizes the diplomatic stalemates and military stalemates which form the limits of current African peacekeeping. It exposes the North African Regional Capability and North African Standby Brigade as paper structures which do not exist operationally, and so limit the capacity of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council. The military intervention of states outside Africa can polarize conflicts and escalate civil wars. Africa’s colonial epoch serves as a warning of the potential dangers of foreign military bases in Africa. In parts of West Africa, states sub-contract peacemaking and anti-terrorist operations to unsupervised local militias, which are lawless at best, and commit ethnic killings at worst. African integration fares better in the economic dimension.
The African Union and its sub-regional structures
(Adonis & Abbey Publishers, 2012) Gottschalk, Keith
After seven decades of episodic existence through conferences, the Pan-African project became permanently institutionalised with the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, with a qualitative upgrade into the African Union in 2002. Much academic literature on African integration and the OAU-AU is pessimistic. Most media commentary is dismissive of the AU, and derogatory of the Pan-African Parliament. This article seeks to trace the on-going evolution of the OAU-AU, and enquire how the AU stands up to contemporary regional organisations. This makes it focus on operationalised ground truth, rather than entities which exist mostly on paper. The African Union and its regional communities have achieved significantly more - and attempted vastly more - than a score of contemporaries such as the Organisation of American States, the League of Arab States, the Association of South-East Asian Nations, and the Southern Common Market. Among regional communities, the African Union is arguably second in accomplishments to only the European Union, which has a three orders of magnitude larger budget and personnel establishment. The African Union's operations focus on peace-making, while its institution-building focuses on economic integration and development.
Africa–India nuclear cooperation: pragmatism, principle, post-colonialism and the Pelindaba Treaty
(Routledge, 2011) Pretorius, Joelien
The United States India nuclear agreement, announced in 2005, was a first step in the process to normalise India’s international nuclear relations despite the fact that India is not a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Africa is largely seen as a uranium supplier rather than nuclear power producer in the world nuclear order. The position that African states take towards Africa India nuclear cooperation, uranium supply to India in particular, is informed by two seemingly contrasting factors, namely economic and political pragmatism on the one hand, and non-proliferation imperatives and norms on the other. The African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty, also referred to as the Pelindaba Treaty, prohibits uranium and nuclear-related exports to states without comprehensive safeguards of their nuclear facilities, but the case of India is still open for interpretation. Africa and India’s shared post-colonial consciousness, manifesting in their historical ties, membership of the Non-Aligned Movement and South South cooperation, is often regarded as another factor facilitating Africa India nuclear relations. A more critical view points to the different notions of post-coloniality in Africa and India, resulting in different approaches to nuclear non-proliferation that constrain their nuclear relations.
After the riot? Rancière, Hamilton, and radical politics
(Penn State University Press, 2018) Piper, Laurence
In recent years, political forces from the Occupy movement in North America to the #FeesMustFall student protest in South Africa have attempted to disrupt the political order in the name of democratic equality. Inspired by radical theorists like Rancière, this politics promises a model of social change through the combination of the disruption of institutions and the reinvention of daily life and political subjectivities. I argue that this radical politics comes with significant limits if it ignores the requirement to build more inclusive policies and new institutions too. This is because disruption alone may extend exclusion by prompting more elite coercion and popular backlash. This claim is illustrated through the example of the #FeesMustFall movement. What is needed instead is a radical politics that also includes a clear theoretical focus on policy and institutional change, such as is contained in Hamilton’s account of freedom as power through representation.
Amhara, Oromo, and Tigray political cultures and challenges of political stability in Ethiopia: 1991–2017
(Universty of the Western Cape, 2024) Solomon Hailemariam Erba
Ethiopia has experienced recurrent ethnic conflicts, especially during the last three decades, since the introduction of a governance structure of ethnic federalism in 1991. Attempts to bring political stability to the country have not been successful, as competing political cultures constantly struggle for hegemony. Political constituencies have fragmented, based on sub-national political cultures. This study considers the influence of Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan political cultures in Ethiopia and their contribution to the recurrent ethnic-based conflicts in the country. This study contributes to our understanding of Gabriel Almond and Sydney Verba’s concept of political culture in that it confirms the existence of “a particular pattern of orientations” that do not radically change over time. The political cultures of the Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan elites consistently showed, during the study period, beliefs and aspirations that included competition for hegemonic power, the absence of political negotiations, and exercising political violence either to maintain the status quo or to unseat the status quo. The study further confirms Frantz Fanon’s conceptualization of political violence over that of Hannah Arendt. The political violence exhibited by the Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan elites has two dimensions: for the ethnic group dominating government, political violence is used to maintain the status quo, whereas other ethnic groups that aspire to hegemonic power adopt Fanon’s justification of political violence to change the status quo. As a result, there is constant political violence in Ethiopia.
The Arab spring and the politics of gender: Assessing campaigns for women’s rights in Egypt and Tunisia
(University of the Western Cape, 2022) Fredericks, Lauren Raylene; Pillay, Suren
The Arab Spring or, as some call it, Arab Awakening, started in December 2010. The reasons for the Arab Spring were numerous and diverse. For some time, sections of Arab societies have confronted the suppression of free discourse, human rights abuse monetary mismanagement, corruption and stifling of political disagreement. As endless broadcast scenes from the Arab Spring affirmed, many women were on the barricades during the uprisings.
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.
Assessing the use of 'new media' as a communication tool by the ANC,DA and EFF in the run up to South Africa's 2019 provincial and national elections.
(University of the Western Cape, 2021) Matika, Simone; Africa, Cherrel
In May 2019, South Africa held its sixth democratic national and provincial elections. 48 political parties participated in this general election compared to the 19 that participated in 2014. Thus, the 2019 elections witnessed a significant broadening of political options that could appeal to the electorate. At the same time mechanisms for political parties to communicate and engage with voters have also evolved. Research has shown that ‘new media’, commonly known as social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for example), have increasingly become part of the political communication methods within electoral democracies. Given this, the study aimed to conduct a deep analysis of the use of Twitter as a communication tool by the African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) during the election campaign period of 2019. The study adopted a qualitative method, by having a virtual ethnography approach to collect Twitter feeds. In addition, a Twitter survey was conducted in order to understand how the users received the political campaigns on the platform. The analysis was guided by the theoretical framework of Foot and Schneider (2006) which outlines and discusses four pillars (or functions) of online campaigning namely: “informing, involving, connecting and mobilizing”.
An assessment of government early childhood development policy to expand access and improve quality: a case study of Brown's farm, Western Cape.
(University of the Western Cape, 2014-11) Nyembezi, Nkosikhulule; Piper, Laurence
In assessing government ECD policy, this thesis focuses on three areas; access, quality, and costs. The study draws on interviews with key stakeholders working within the ECD sector generally, and uses survey data from a case study of Brown's Farm area in Cape Town. The research found that, some ten years down the line, ECD provision is still mostly privately provided by the informal sector through community-based facilities. Both formal and informal ECD facilities are unevenly spatially distributed such that they do not yet reach the most vulnerable poor children, especially in rural areas and informal settlements.
Astronaissance: Communicating astronomy & space to the African imagination
(2013) Gottschalk, Keith
Astronaissance neatly conceptualizes the crossover between the African Renaissance, the re-emergence of Astronomy in Africa, and the rise of cognate space sciences and astronautics. Story-telling, painting, engraving, writing, and above all, viewing the heavens above, have always been amongst the strategies for communicating this excitement and wonder. Today, astronomy societies, the internet, media and mobile phone apps, and other public outreach projects are crucial when, for the first time ever, a majority of Africa’s people now live under the light-polluted skies of our continent’s towns and cities. Space-related products and services are woven into the fabric of our daily life as never before. Policy-makers, budget-allocators, and managers need to see as essential to their strategy communicating to Africa’s citizens, voters, and taxpayers, the necessity of Astronomy, the other space sciences, and Astronautics.
Book review: Building a capable state: service delivery in post-apartheid South Africa
(SAGE, 2019) Piper, Laurence
Written by long-standing research practitioners Ian Palmer and Nishendra Moodley, as well as one of South Africa’s leading academic urbanists, Professor Sue Parnell, Building a Capable State tackles the hard question of whether the post-apartheid state is up to delivering rights-based, sustainable development, and more specifically the task of providing local services like water, electricity, roads and housing. Somewhat surprisingly, after 10 years of maladministration and even deliberate sabotage under the Zuma administration, the answer is a qualified yes. Today South Africa’s citizens, especially poor citizens, are substantially better off than they were in 1994.
Campaigning in Party Strongholds: A case of Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay.
(University of the Western Cape, 2015) Dyantyi, Mandisa; Africa, Cherrel
The ability to campaign freely in the run-up to elections is seen as a critical part of democracy. This study seeks to establish whether South African political parties can campaign freely in township areas, without fear of intimidation or violence, or whether they remain closed party strongholds. This paper examines what constitutes a �free and fair� campaign space. This study then explores the 2014 election campaigns of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the township of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay in the Western Cape and examines party campaigning in that particular township. The study looks at the perceptions of political parties and the community members with regard to the campaign process in Imizamo Yethu. It looks at how both the governing and the opposition parties experienced campaigning in this area, which is the stronghold of the ANC, and how free and fair they think the whole process was. Community members� perception of the political parties is also examined. This study finds that opposition parties experienced a number of challenges while campaigning in this area. Some of these challenges were that the people in the area were not very receptive to other parties that are not the ANC due to factors such as party identification and clientelistic relationships that exist in the community. The study then concludes that even though these issues are not sole contributors, they play a significant role in influencing people�s voting decisions and how they view political parties.
Challenging prejudice through participation: a case study of an anti-xenophobic community based organisation in Khayelitsha site c in the Western Cape, South Africa
(University of Western Cape, 2013) Ako, Abang Zacheous; Piper, Laurence
This study is an investigation into how the Site C, Action Committee Against Xenophobia (SACAX) in Khayelitsha was able to mobilise the community, community based organisations, and governance structures alongside national and international Non-Governmental Organisations working with refugees to successfully challenge prejudice towards African immigrants in the period leading to the World Cup 2010. The primary objective of this mobilisation was to raise consciousness about the plight of African immigrants; prevent a new round of attacks; and also to ensure that state officials were better prepared to intervene in future outbursts. The various stakeholders that took part in this cogovernance space are unanimous that the SACAX programme ushered in a new era of creating awareness and civic education that changed significantly the perception of the community towards African immigrants during the World Cup 2010. The thesis will also show how SACAX also encourage a more active citizenship and also built network between civil society including national and international NGOs and local state. These efforts created a new set of relations and saw the construction of new sets of relations in terms of capacity building across civil society, the state and local and international actors. This resulted in both the creation of an early warning mechanisms and also networks to coordinate efforts in future outburst. This was an example of a Co-governance space or nascent „participatory sphere‟. The example of SACAX is thus a case of civil society deepening democracy in three ways: expanding democratic values, building democratic citizenship and creating new participatory institutional capacity. This then elucidates the role civil society can play in influencing citizens directly, government and public policy. Indeed, to the extent that this network forms the basis of a substantive partnership between state and civil society from local to international levels, such co-governance around the policy issues can be seen as a nascent form of participatory space as identified by Cornwall and Coelho (2007:1).
The choice of atomic power for electricity in South Africa
(2013) Gottschalk, Keith
South Africa needs to both increase its electricity generation, and to incrementally transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources. The most cost-effective strategy would be a mix of imported hydropower, solar power, and imported gas, which is cleaner than burning local coal. A small but skilful atomic power lobby driven by a relatively few bureaucrats, engineers, and politicians has successfully dominated electricity decision-making over choice of generation options under both late apartheid and the first two decades of democracy. The Government’s tenacious determination to choose atomic power is price-inelastic, which indicates that political considerations, not economic, are the driver.
Clientelism as civil society? Unpacking the relationship between clientelism and democracy at the local level in South Africa
(SAGE Publications, 2017) Anciano, Fiona
This article, building on analyses from the global south, attempts to reframe democratic expectations by considering where previously maligned practices such as clientelism may hold moments of democracy. It does so by comparing the theory of civil society with that of clientelism, and its African counterpart neo-patrimonialism. It argues that clientelism as civil society may fulfil democratic tasks such as holding the (local) state accountable, strengthening civil and political liberties and providing channels of access for previously marginalised groups. Clientelism is not necessarily a reflection of imposed power relations but, at times, can demonstrate a conscious political strategy, to generate development, on the part of its protagonists.
Community development and engagement with local governance in South Africa
(Elsevier, 2008) Piper, Laurence; Hemson, David Christopher; Hicks, Janine
The issue of public participation is receiving increasing attention in South Africa, from both government and civil society sectors. We are witnessing acknowledgement from a wide range of public institutions that insufficient consideration has been paid to public participation, and that existing policy frameworks, institutional mechanisms and programme interventions are failing to comply with government's constitutional and statutory obligations in this regard. This article examines actual practice in one key invited space: the policy and legislative framework for public participation in municipal processes. The article also highlights community experiences of attempting to engage with municipalities in development planning and policy processes, and their aspirations and expectations in this regard. We conclude with a set of recommendations on how participatory development at the local level can be transformed to ensure that municipal planning and programme implementation processes are truly accessible, participatory and empowering for local communities.
Complexity, depoliticisation, and African nuclear ordering agency: a meso-level exploration
(Routledge, 2024) Pretorius, Joelien; Vaughan, Tom
The regional nuclear ordering terrain in Africa is increasingly complex, with proliferating and deepening institutional relationships to the institutions of the global nuclear order. Applying a ‘complexity lens’ to this regional institutional apparatus may therefore seem like an intuitive way to understand its role in global nuclear ordering at large, and Africa’s place within it. However, one important concern when thinking about complex multinational regimes is depoliticisation. This has been examined in contexts of global development as well as nuclear order and we show this as a key feature of meso nuclear ordering in Africa. A complexity lens is useful to analyse the characteristics of the African regional institutional terrain. However, a complexity lens can perpetuate this depoliticisation if it does not acknowledge the political thrusts which underlie conceptions of ‘order’ and ‘disorder’.
Corporate citizenship and the millennium development goals: the case of South African Breweries in the Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2013) Oloumou, Yannick Rodrigue Dieu; Pretorius, Joelien
This study explores the relationship between companies and society with regards to companies’ social responsibilities. A number of concepts such as Corporate Citizenship (CC), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Social Investment (CSI), articulate the role of companies in society. While these concepts are often used interchangeably, the main argument advanced in this study is that the concept of CC has more political currency than other concepts as CC confers duties and rights to companies in communities where they operate. In developing countries, CC is concerned with the role played by companies in administering the socio-economic rights of people living in communities where they operate. The study seeks to provide an overview of corporations’ obligations towards the socio-economic rights of people through CC, proposing the use of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a way to find a normative framework for CC.

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