'White Liberal' to 'Rainbow Nation'
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From ‘White Liberal’ to ‘Rainbow Nation’ and Beyond: The Dynamics of Party Adaptation in a Racialised Environment A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Alexandra Leisegang Department of Political Studies University of the Witwatersrand Supervisor: Prof. D. Glaser Declaration University of the Witwatersrand, JohannesburG School of Social Sciences I, Alexandra Leisegang (0513133T), am a student registered for the Degree of Doctor in Philosphy (Political Studies) in the year 2017. I hereby declare the following: • I am aware that plagiarism (the use of someone else’s work without their permission and/or without acknowledging the original source) is wrong. • I confirm that ALL the work submitted for assessment for the above course is my own unaided work except where I have explicitly indicated otherwise. • I have followed the required conventions in referencing the thoughts and ideas of others. • I understand that the University of the Witwatersrand may take disciplinary action against me if there is a belief that this in not my own unaided work or that I have failed to acknowledge the source of the ideas or words in my writing. SiGnature: _________________________ Date: ________________________ ii Abstract The Democratic Alliance (DA) has been the only opposition party in democratic South Africa to demonstrate consistent growth in every election since 1994. In order to achieve this growth, it has had to adapt its label from a ‘White Liberal’ party to a Rainbow Nation party in a racialised environment where race still affects voter choice. The party’s greatest challenge has been to attract black voters and this has formed a central feature of its adaptation since the late 1990s. Although the DA’s growth is well-documented in the literature on elections in South Africa, there has been little scholarly interrogation of the dynamics of the DA’s growth from a party behaviour perspective. The thesis seeks to fill this gap by providing an explanation for the DA’s growth through party behaviour theory. Using the Party Evolution Model (Lamprinakou, 2008), the thesis examines the party’s origins, its identity and its political marketing adaptation from 1994 to 2017. Beginning with the formation of the Progressive Party in 1959, the thesis follows the party’s several reoriginations which led to the formation of what is now the DA. It identifies the party’s organisational type and ideological identity and how this is beginning to shift as the party attempts to attract black voters. The adaptation of the party into a modern, diverse party occurs at the organisational and political marketing levels. Through an exploration of party communications, policies and internal documents from 1994 to 2017, the thesis argues that the DA has adapted from a policy-seeking, product-oriented party to a vote-seeking hybrid of sales- and market-orientation. The thesis explores the DA’s organisational and party label adaptation; its attempts to balance its racial markets since 1994; the realignment of politics in South Africa; and the connection between the DA’s history and its present trajectory. iii Table of Contents DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................ II ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... III INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1 THE RACIALISED POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA .......................................................................... 2 TRACING THE DA’S ADAPTATION .............................................................................................................. 5 STRUCTURE ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Theoretical Approach and Literature Review ................................................................................ 7 Origin ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Identity ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Political Marketing since 1994 ....................................................................................................... 9 SECTION ONE: THEORETICAL APPROACH, LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY .................. 11 1.1 THEORETICAL APPROACH: THE PARTY EVOLUTION MODEL ..................................................... 11 1.1.1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 11 1.1.2 PARTY EVOLUTION MODEL ............................................................................................................ 11 Stage I: Origin .............................................................................................................................. 12 Stage II: Party Identity ................................................................................................................. 14 Stage III: Political Marketing ........................................................................................................ 18 Party Evolution Model and Adaptation ....................................................................................... 24 1.1.3. PARTY EVOLUTION MODEL, RACE AND THE DA ................................................................................ 25 1.2. LITERATURE REVIEW: RACE AND THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE ............................................... 27 1.2.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 27 1.2.2. THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................................... 27 The state of opposition politics since 1994 .................................................................................. 28 1.2.3. RACIAL POLITICS IN SOUTH AFRICA ................................................................................................ 30 The Racial Census ........................................................................................................................ 31 1.2.4. THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE ......................................................................................................... 34 Centrality of race ......................................................................................................................... 35 Gaps ............................................................................................................................................. 35 1.2.5. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 36 1.3. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 37 1.3.1. DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................................................... 37 1.3.2. ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................. 38 1.3.3. POSITIONALITY ........................................................................................................................... 38 SECTION TWO: ORIGIN AND IDENTITY OF THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE ........................................ 40 2.1 STAGE I - THE ORIGIN OF THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE ............................................................ 40 2.1.1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 40 2.1.2. THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY ............................................................................................................. 41 iv Ideology – IndividualisM and Multi-racialisM .............................................................................. 43 MeMbership and Voters .............................................................................................................. 45 The external environment ............................................................................................................ 46 Organisational change – 1965-1971 ........................................................................................... 47 2.1.3. GROWTH AND MERGERS – 1975-2014 ......................................................................................... 48 Progressive ReforM Party and Progressive Federal Party ............................................................ 49 The DeMocratic Party .................................................................................................................. 50 The DeMocratic Alliance .............................................................................................................. 51 Merger with the Independent DeMocrats ................................................................................... 53 Agang-SA ..................................................................................................................................... 53 2.1.4. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................