Political Culture in the New South Africa
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Political Culture in the New South Africa 7 September 2005 Sunnyside Park Hotel, Parktown, Johannesburg South Africa KONRAD-ADENAUER-STIFTUNG • SEMINAR REPORT • NO 16 • JOHANNESBURG • OCTOBER 2006 © KAS, 2006 All rights reserved While copyright in this publication as a whole is vested in the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, copyright in the text rests with the individual authors, and no paper may be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission, in writing, of both authors and the publisher. It should be noted that any opinions expressed are the responsibility of the individual authors and that the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung does not necessarily subscribe to the opinions of contributors. ISBN: 0-620-37571-X Published by: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung 60 Hume Road Dunkeld 2196 Johannesburg Republic of South Africa PO Box 1383 Houghton 2041 Johannesburg Republic of South Africa Telephone: (+27 +11) 214-2900 Telefax: (+27 +11) 214-2913/4 E-mail: [email protected] www.kas.org.za Editing, DTP and production: Tyrus Text and Design Printing: Stups Printing Foreword THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENTISTS GABRIEL ALMOND AND SIDNEY VERBA HAVE, MORE THAN anyone else, attempted to define the term political culture. According to them: Political culture is the pattern of individual attitudes and orientations towards politics among the members of a political system. It is the subjective realm that underlies and gives meaning to political actions.1 Although this definition captures succinctly what political culture is, it falls short in differentiating between the political culture that exists at an elite level and the political culture that exists among the citizens of a given system. The new South Africa inherited a complex political culture that has been shaped by the culture of both liberation movements and the apartheid system. When corruption issues are discussed nowadays, these deliberations sometimes elicit the belief that corruption is a recent phenomenon. One should not forget, however, that patronage politics played a large part in the development of Afrikaner nationalism; in the pre-1994 era Bantustans existed on an irrational economic and politically illegitimate basis and were therefore built largely on subsidies and rent of every kind.2 Additionally, the African National Congress (ANC) brought with it the culture of a liberation movement. Its war situation led to a need-to-know culture in which trust and loyalty superseded all other qualities: such networks of loyalty bear the risk of transmuting easily into networks of patronage. This political context promotes the dichotomous perception of ‘we and they’ and the conviction that if you are not with the liberator, you are considered to be against it. Granted, this type of culture was certainly necessary for survival in the hostile political and social apartheid environment, but it is outdated in the new democratic dispensation and is not conducive to the enhancement of mutual tolerance and compromise, or to the generation of lasting coalitions. However, to analyse South Africa’s political culture means not only to look at the culture existing within and among political parties: one must also scrutinise public policy and decision making. A crucial question that needs to be asked is: Does black economic empowerment facilitate nepotism and patronage, and what measures are needed to prevent these side-effects? A democratic political culture starts with the individual, and particularly with the political leaders. As political scientist Tom Lodge has pointed out: […] the quality of leadership matters more in new democracies than in established political systems where democracies are young institutions still fluid and more susceptible to be shaped by dominant personalities.3 iii iv POLITICAL CULTURE IN THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA If we accept this premise, we need to ask: How ethical are South African politicians and what kind of oversight do they provide? The list of scandals emerging since 1994 has become elaborate and bears the names of the ‘who’s who’ of South Africa’s liberation struggle. Equally pertinent in this context, we need to ask: What kind of peer review mechanisms exist? Is there a level of tolerance and acquiescence in certain modes of behavior? Looking at the political culture in today’s South Africa also means to leave the elite level and to see what kind of impact it has on citizens. The survival of any political system depends on the support of both the political elite and the population; an agreement needs to exist between elites and the broader society that a democratic system is the best, albeit imperfect, form of government. But South Africa’s emerging competitive political culture is slowly being undermined. Where a dominant party appears to be permanently entrenched in power, voters who might otherwise support the principle of competitive political pluralism become torn between the pragmatic need to secure some influence with the governing party and the principled need to keep government on its toes.4 In consequence, opposition voters become disillusioned and begin to withdraw from any political engagement – and this is what is happening in South Africa today. In South Africa’s 2004 election, only 75% of eligible voters registered to vote (5% less than in 1999), and only 76.7% of the electorate bothered to vote (89.3% in 1999). The seriousness of the situation becomes more evident when one compares the level of voter turnout among the entire voting age population over the three elections: while 86% voted in 1994, in 2004 only 57.8% came to the polling stations (71.8% in 1999).8 Against this background the state of political culture in South Africa needs to be discussed seriously and in all its facets. This seminar report is based on a conference held by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and St Augustine College of South Africa in Johannesburg in September 2005, and aims to contribute to the establishment of a democratic political culture in South Africa. Fortunately enough, the political sphere in South Africa does still allow for the critical discussion of shortcomings in the country’s democratisation process. Or to use the words of Jonathan Hyslop: Scandal happens in South Africa because there is a relatively lively media, a public sphere, and a public discourse which does not always allow legitimisation of corruption.6 Andrea E. Ostheimer7 Resident Representative KAS-Kinshasa, DR Congo FOREWORD v NOTES 1 Almond G & Verba S, The Civic Culture. Princeton, 1963. 2 Hyslop J, cited in: Sole S, The state of corruption and accountability, in Daniel J, Southall R & Lutchman J (eds), State of the Nation. South Africa 2004-2005. Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2005, pp 86-112. 3 Lodge T, cited in: Jacobs S & Calland R, Thabo Mbeki: Myth and context, in Jacobs S & Calland R, Thabo Mbeki’s World. Scottsville: University of Natal Press, 2002, p 5. 4 Schlemmer L, Can South Africa’s Democracy Survive its History and Political Culture, Helen Suzman Foundation, 2002, p 12. 5 Piombo J, Politics in a stabilising democracy: South Africa’s 2004 elections, Strategic Insights III(5), May 2004, <www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/may/piomboMay04.asp>. 6 Hyslop J, Political corruption, WISER in brief 2(2), Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, December 2003, p 12, <www.wiserweb.wits.ac.za> (13 August 2005). 7 Former KAS resident representative in Johannesburg. Author of ‘Südafrikas Politische Kultur: Vom Befreiungskampf über die Transformation zur demokratischen Konsolidierung’, KAS- Auslandsinformationen, September 2005. Table of contents List of figures ix List of abbreviations xi Public perceptions of South Africa’s political culture 1 Annie Chikwanha Understanding culture and rights in South Africa today: 19 Moving beyond racial hegemony in national identity Kristina Bentley Political culture and the challenge of elections 41 Frederik van Zyl Slabbert Culture(s) of the African National Congress 45 Raymond Suttner The Tripartite Alliance and the challenge of social movements 49 Ashwin Desai Between fundamentalism and pluralism: The political culture of the 61 South African religious sector Anthony Egan The challenges of corporate governance in South Africa 69 Philip Armstrong A culture of transparency in South Africa: Negotiating the obstacles 77 Hennie van Vuuren iv POLITICAL CULTURE IN THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA The main challenges identified by political parties for South Africa’s political culture: Jo-Ann Downs, African Christian Democratic Party 95 Isaac Mfundisi, United Christian Democratic Party 101 Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Inkatha Freedom Party 107 John Moodey, Democratic Alliance 111 Masilo Hutamo, Independent Democrats 113 Dr Pieter Mulder, Freedom Front Plus 115 Questions and answers 121 Comprehensive bibliography 133 Conference programme 139 Participants’ list 141 Seminar Reports 143 Occasional Paper series 146 Other publications 152 List of figures • Demand for democracy over time 4 • Demand for democracy over time 5 • Demand for democracy – ‘committed democrats’ (over time) 5 • Support for democratic institutions (over time) 6 • Supply of democracy over time 7 • Trust in institutions 9 • Contacting institutions 10 • Use of force or violence for a just cause 11 • Membership in organisations 11 • Knowledge of leaders 12 • Question leaders versus respect authority 13 • Compliance with the law 14 • Leadership must be non-partisan 14 • Individual responsibility for well-being vs. government 15 • Political knowledge 16 • Voted in last election 17 • Structures of religions 64 ix List of abbreviations