View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Wits Institutional Repository on DSPACE Name: Sibusiso Lukhele Student Number: 0514971v Degree: Master of Arts by Coursework and Research Report Faculty: Humanities School: Social Sciences Department: Political Studies Name of Supervisor: Prof. Daryl Glaser T i t l e Internal Democracy in the ANC or, did the Polok wane Revolt challenge Michels’ “ Iron Law of Oligarchy ” ? 0 Acknowledgments I would like t o thank the following people for supporting me during t he y e ar: The Political Studies department at the University of the Witwatersrand for their continued support throughout my research report. My mother, for all her words of encouragement and continued support throughout my academic career. I have always wanted to make you proud because you have sacrificed so much for me in order for me to succeed in life. This thesis is dedicated to you and all the sacrifices you have made. My mentor Lynette Sikhakha ne for the guidance and support she showed throughout the entire year. I’d also like to thank Xolile Jasmine Ngcobo and Ntebogeng Kgokong for the advice they offered, words of encouragement and supporting me when I felt like quitting my Masters and m o t iv a ting me to continue with my degree. The Sylvia Neam - Jahn Foundation and Wits Foundation for funding my studies in 2008 and 2009. I thank you all for the support you have shown and without you; this would have not been possible. 1 C on t e nt s Chapter 1: Introduction P g . 4 Chapter 2: Theoretical Overview P g . 8 Chapter 3: The ANC from 1912 – 1989 P g . 4 7 Chapter 4: The ANC from 1990 – 1997 P g . 5 3 Chapter 5: The Chief, 1997 – 2007 P g . 6 0 Chapter 6: The Polokwane Revolt P g . 7 3 Chapter 7: What has changed? The ANC post - P ol o kw a n e P g . 7 8 Chapter 8: Conclusion P g . 8 2 Bibliography Pg. 84 2 Acronym List AA – Affirmative Action ANC – African National Congress ANCYL – African National Congress Youth League BEE – Black Economic Empowerment COSATU – Congress of South African Trade Unions CPSA – Communist Party of South Africa CPSU – Communist Party of the Soviet Union FDI – Foreign Direct Investment GEAR – Growth, Employment and Redistribution HIV/AIDS – human immunodeficiency virus/ Acquired immune deficiency syndrome IFP – Inkatha Freedom Party ITU – International Trade Union MK – UmKhonto we Sizwe MP – Member of Parliament NDR – National Democratic Revolution NEDLAC – National Economic Development and Labour Council NEC – National Executive Committee NP – National Party NPA – National Prosecuting Authority NWC – National Working Committee PEC – Provincial Executive Committee RDP – Reconstruction and Development Programme SABC – South African Broadcasting Corporation SACP – South African Communist Party SDP – Social Democratic Party of Germany SANNC – South African Native National Congress SWAPO – South West Africa People’s Organization UDF – United Democratic Front ZANU-PF – Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front 3 Chapter 1: Introduction A im The aim of this dissertation is to look at internal democracy in political parties. I will be using the African National Congress (ANC) as my case study. My hunch is that Robert Michels i s correct in thinking that elites dominate ostensibly democratic political parties. Accordingly, I hypothesise that the ANC has been elite -d o m in at e d since the advent of democracy in 1994. While the validation of this hypothesis cannot ‘prove’ the existence of an ‘iron law of oligarchy’, it can provide some support to that thesis, especially given that the ANC proclaims itself to be a democratic force. Power in the ANC lies in an elite located in the leadership organs of the party - t he Executive, National W orking Committee and National Executive Committee. This leadership is not democratic in the sense of being controlled by, or accountable to, branches and ordinary members. The Polokwane conference of December 2007 tests this hypothesis, since it ostensibly marked a reassertion of control by the ANC grassroots after years of domination by a centralizing and authoritarian Thabo Mbeki. If Polokwane re -established popular control over the ANC, the hypothesis is disproved. If, however, it was a n e l it e -m an ip u lat e d event or merely signalled a circulation of unaccountable elite groups, the hypothesis is, if not proven, at least supported. It is of course too early to grasp the full significance of Polokwane in ANC history, but we have enough distance and evidence to begin to form a picture. My theoretical approach draws on elite theory in general and Robert Michels’ book Political Parties (1959/originally 1915) in particular. Elite theorists like Gaetano Mosca, Vilfredo Pareto and C. Wright Mills argue that states o r particular states (like the US in the 1950s in the case of Mills) are dominated by closed, tightly -k ni t a n d 4 unaccountable elites, such that democratic processes are largely superficial or a sham. Conservative elite theorists like Mosca and Pareto thought elite domination is a good thing and inevitable, while Mills, and writers like Bachrach, Baratz and Stephen Lukes were radical democrats challenging elite domination in the West. Some elitist theorists, like Max Weber, Schumpeter and Truman, have tried to reconcile elitism with recognition of the reality and value of representative democracy as a means of keeping elites in check. Pluralists for their part have celebrated democracy as ‘polyarchy’, a process in which organised elites proliferate and check an d b al an c e each other, and ordinary citizens are liable to find organised interest groups to represent their concerns. Neo -pluralists (like Charles Lindblom) recognise the reality of elite competition, but tend to see it as playing out in a field of asymmet rical power where some elites are much more dominant than others in key areas, such as economic policymaking (see Bottomore 1964, Dunleavy and O’Leary 1987, Evans 1995). Michels advances a more conservative and pessimistic elitist view than the pluralists o r ne o -pluralists, and indeed than the democratic elitists. Conceptual Framework As indicated, this research report draws on the elite theory tradition of political science. Elite theory has a weak and strong hypothesis. For the purpose of this dissert ation, I will primarily focus on the strong hypothesis. Conservative and radical elite theories (strong hypothesis) claim that the elite are small, closed and concentrated; it is unaccountable to its members/masses, the masses lack the capacity to influenc e t he elite. A weak hypothesis (such as that adopted by pluralists and to a d e g re e ne o -pluralists and democratic elitists) entails that the elite are not small and that it is possible for non -elite citizens to join an elite. The masses also have some form of leverage and can 5 participate in policies and influence decision making. They gain leverage from competition amongst the elites. H y po t he s is In this research report I will be advancing and testing a strong hypothesis. It is a truism to say that the ANC is led by a small group of leaders; all organisations are. It is more challenging and interesting to hypothesise, as I do, that the leadership forms an unaccountable, tightly -knit, relatively closed elite. The Polokwane conference represented an elite -ma n i pulated process and a circulation of unaccountable elite groups rather than a genuine or sustained assertion of grassroots power. Methodology I will be using the qualitative method for my dissertation, reading and analysing books, articles and documents in search of evidence for and against my hypothesis, as well as for empirical information. I will use both secondary and primary material when conducting my research. I will use some of the academic literature from the libraries at the University of the Wi twatersrand. I will also rely heavily on newspapers. Finally, I will also examine party documents available at the websites of the ANC and its alliance partners. I will be using the ANC’s website because it will provide me with important information abou t some of the party’s policy documents, such as leadership and democratic centralism. I will be using secondary sources to see what has been written about the ANC and to compare what different scholars say about the ruling party. Newspaper articles and jou rnals will be used because there have not been enough books published about the ruling party. 6 The focus will be on the post -1994 period, with special reference to the Mbeki presidency and Polokwane and its aftermath. I recognise, though, that the ANC’s de mocratic traditions (or lack thereof) come out of a long history, including decades of clandestine struggle. Authoritarianism and secrecy did not emerge in 1994, though it is remarkable that it persisted and even deepened under post -1994 democratic conditi ons. At any rate, some historical background will be necessary. 7 Chapter 2: Theoretical Overview Literature Review Part one: Michels’ Iron law of oligarchy Michels writes about how democracy is mainly about “oligarchs” who d o m in ate political parties. Michels writes that when political parties are formed, they are democratic in their nature. As political parties evolve, they come to be dominated by oligarchs. Leaders become indispensible, or form alliances with one another primari ly in order to safeguards their interests. Michels also sees the masses as contributing because they are unable to mobilise. In Mills’ terms, the elites are unified whereas “mass society is fragmented and impotent” (Mills, 1956). Michels (195 8 ) believes t hat the masses are incapable of leading political parties.