Ethnic identities in South Africa have had a particularly contrived history, set within the constraints and motivations of population classification by race. A more democratic political environment emerged with the dismantling of apartheid, bringing with it a multitude of issues including the design and character of the country’s political institutions and framework. This thesis will address two principal questions. The first and primary one investigates what lies behind the initiation and development of ethnic bonds. The second concerns the political implications and management of ethnic expressions in a democratic South Africa. An analysis of Zulu ethnic nationalism will be undertaken, because it constituted the most prominent case of assertive communal interests during democratic transitional negotiations. This thesis argues that circumstantial and instrumental factors (based on conditions, and the actions of individuals and organizations respectively), have been predominately responsible for the initiation and formation of ethnic bonds, especially amongst those who identify with a Zulu identity. The “conditions” describe the increasingly segregationist direction in which successive South African government authorities were moving, especially after the 1948 election victory of the National Party and the subsequent introduction of apartheid. Secondly, the “actions” denote the motivations of both Zulu actors and governments in generating and elaborating an ethnic discourse where their desired interests could be more effectively supported and assured. It will also be argued that because of the instrumental and selective use of ethnicity, as well as the narrow interests being served by its popular and community-centred expressions, a developing South African democratic culture should seek to protect ethnic diversity rather than promote ethnic interests. To do so would be to deny the perpetuation of ethnic cleavages and the violence and instability perpetrated in its name in recent years. The “protection” of cultural diversity is consistent with a constitution that seeks non-discrimination among all South African identities. Finally, it is believed that an emphasis on the individual as individual, as well as member of a cultural group, will break from subordinating the individual to an ascribed racial and ethnic identity as in the past, and assist in reconstituting the state as equally reflective of all South Africans.

This study is a content analysis of political writings of Aggrey Klaaste (1988-2002). Six theoretical themes suggest that Klaaste’s Nation Building philosophy can help deal with racial and social divisions in the country. These historical divisions are the source of racial tensions, lack of inter-racial socialisations and cause separate living. Lack of social cohesion makes it impossible for post apartheid South Africa to achieve much-needed single national identity. The process of nation building proposed by Klaaste starts with breaking down what he refers to as ‘the corrugated iron curtain’. Social curtaining is deliberate actions by people of different racial groups, religious formations and social classes to build psychological, physical, institutional, political, economic and religious boundaries around themselves to keep others outside their living spaces. These conscious barriers result in unstable democracy as the majority (black population) get frustrated with shack dwellings - as symbols of poverty - while the white population and the middle class blacks move to white suburbs. Moving to upmarket suburbs does not necessarily make race groups to cohere and share a common national identity. Instead informal settlements breed social ills such as poverty, crime and drug substances abuse. This status quo can cause serious political instability which will affect everyone – black and white. Klaaste argues that for collective survival all race groups need to enter into politics of action. For this he proposes specific processes and actions through Nation Building. It is argued that political solutions have failed to unite people and leaders from all sectors of society should emerge. Blacks cannot moan and hate forever. Whites will be affected and must actively support the rebuilding process. This treatise proposes nation building as a process to help everyone to find uniting issues free of political ideologies to create new brotherhood and Ubuntu.

The focal point of this treatise is the evaluation of the paradigm shift that has taken place in our South African criminal justice system post 1994. This shift is seen as a move away from a retribution approach to a more victim-centred approach. One needs to remember that the previous regime had unfair and unjust laws: to do away with such laws an interim constitution1 was enacted in Parliament in 1993 and became operational on 27 April 1994. It was the fundamental law of South Africa. This was later repealed by the final Constitution 2 on 4 April 1997. In its preamble it states categorically that it seeks to establish a “society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights” and “(to) lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law”. One of the priorities of democratic government in 1996 was the National Crime Prevention Strategy3 (hereafter referred to as the NCPS). It was designed to reduce the high level of crime in our country and has four pillars: the criminal justice process; reducing crime through environmental design; public values and education and trans-national crime. Pillar one is seen as a move away from retribution as punishment towards a system of restorative justice 4. Furthermore the South African government is a signatory to various international laws, treaties and declarations that uphold victims’ rights. One example would be the United Nations Declaration on the Basic Principle of Justice for Victims of Crime and abuse of Power 1985 - in fact the Victims’ Charter is compliant with this declaration. Yet one cannot negate the fact that in the last two decades the status of victims has altered significantly: there has been some development in the transformation of the criminal justice system. Since 1994 the focus gradually shifted from an adversarial and retributive criminal justice to that of restorative justice. This shift is vindicated by following examples: the adoption of the NCPS; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 5 (hereafter referred to as the TRC); the adoption of the Service Charter for Victims of Crime 6(hereafter referred to as the Victims’ Charter); the enactment of the Child Justice Act7; and case laws which applied restorative justice principles such as S v Maluleke and S v Saayman. Therefore this treatise will evaluate the application of a restorative system by looking at the definition of restorative justice; government commitments to the system; the enactment of Acts and policies that support the system. This will be done in relation to the victims.

This thesis argues that 1994 did not mark a point of absolute discontinuity in the history of South Africa. More specifically, it asserts that 1994 did not signal the end of segregationism; instead of democracy leading to national integration, the Bantustans are still governed and managed differently from the rest of the country. Consequently, it is no surprise that they remain mired in pervasive, debilitating poverty fifteen years after 1994. In insisting that contemporary South Africa is old (rather than new), the thesis seeks to make a contribution to political struggles that aim to bring to an end the segregationist past-in-the-present. The thesis is arranged in seven chapters. The first chapter considers the crisis that has engulfed South Africa historiography since 1994. It traces the roots of the crisis back to some of the fundamentals of the discipline of history, such as empiricism, neutrality and historicism. It suggests that the way to end the crisis, to re-assert the relevance of history, is for historians to re-invoke the practice of producing histories of the present, in an interested, deliberate manner. Chapter 2 narrows down the focus of the thesis to (past and present) property. It suggests that instead of understanding the constitutional protection of property rights and installation of a restitution process as the product of a compromise between adversarial negotiators, these outcomes are more correctly understood as emanating from consensus. The third chapter outlines the implementation of the restitution programme from 1994 to 2008. The productive value of restitution over this period is found not in what it has delivered to the claimants (supposedly the beneficiaries of the programme), but rather in its discursive effects related to citizenship in the new South Africa. Chapter 4 considers the exclusion of dispossession that was implemented in the Bantustans from the restitution programme. It argues that this decision was not an oversight on the part of the post-1994 government. Instead it was consistent with all other key policy decisions taken in the recent period. The Bantustans have been treated differently from the rest of South Africa; they have been deliberately under-developed, fabricated as welfare zones, and subjected to arbitrary customary rule. Whereas Chapters 2 to 4 look at the production of historical truth on the side of domination, Chapter 6 and 7 consider production on the side of resistance. Specifically, they describe and analyse the attempts of an NGO to establish the truths of betterment as dispossession, and post-1994 prejudice against the victims of betterment dispossession. They serve as case studies of third party-led processes that seek to produce truth-effects from within a prevailing truth regime. The final chapter attempts to bring many of the threads that weave through the thesis together, by means of a critical consideration of human rights discourse. The chapter calls on intellectuals to establish truths in relation to the history of ongoing human wrongs in South Africa (as opposed to the rainbow narrative of human rights) Finally, the thesis includes a postscript, comprising technical summaries of each of the chapters.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in 25% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management( in the field of Public and Development Management) / Political parties are prominent in the development of democracy in South Africa. Therefore, it is critical to expand knowledge about the governance of the major parties in the country in order to reflect on the future of democracy. The framework based on key functions - membership recruitment, policy formulation and organisational complexity performed by political parties facilitate an incisive assessment of adherence to governance principles - participation, accountability and transparency. Various sources, which include constitutions, interviews and focus group discussions of political parties, were central in the assessment of the governance principles of parties. The study revealed that the visions, missions, regularity of meetings, quorums requirements for meetings, diverse representation and structures are instructive in assessing and understanding the prevalence of governance principles within the operations of political parties. These areas are revealed in the study and they also provide insights in a future perspective of South African democracy. / GR2018

The imbizo was introduced in the light of the problems associated with indirect democracy, as well as attempts to bring democracy closer to the people in ways with which they are more familiar. The problem of the study was approached by putting the imbizo in perspective. Hence, a cybernetics model was used with the two information systems, namely the GCIS and the spider-web. They were used to describe the workings of the imbizo in the political system. A mixed method using both the quantitative and qualitative approaches investigated the problem by surveying students‟ understanding of the imbizo. A case study regarding service delivery and public participation was conducted at villages where the imbizo had been held. Generally, findings confirm the imbizo’s role as an instrument to enhance service delivery. The findings have some far-reaching implications for democracy: Unlike indirect democracy, the imbizo “takes the government closer to the people” through unmediated engagement of the people in order to realise direct democracy and accountability. / M.A. (Politics) / Political Science

The imbizo was introduced in the light of the problems associated with indirect democracy, as well as attempts to bring democracy closer to the people in ways with which they are more familiar. The problem of the study was approached by putting the imbizo in perspective. Hence, a cybernetics model was used with the two information systems, namely the GCIS and the spider-web. They were used to describe the workings of the imbizo in the political system. A mixed method using both the quantitative and qualitative approaches investigated the problem by surveying students‟ understanding of the imbizo. A case study regarding service delivery and public participation was conducted at villages where the imbizo had been held. Generally, findings confirm the imbizo’s role as an instrument to enhance service delivery. The findings have some far-reaching implications for democracy: Unlike indirect democracy, the imbizo “takes the government closer to the people” through unmediated engagement of the people in order to realise direct democracy and accountability. / M.A. (Politics) / Political Science

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The following study examines whether there are contending interpretations of the rule of law present within the South African democracy. The study proposes that the rule of law forms part of the societal understanding of democracy and everyday life. Rule of law is defined in terms of mental models which influence how stakeholders conceive and define institutions. Rule of law is more than a mere institutional guarantee or set of rules — rule of law is understood as a component of a specific culture of understanding. It is shown that conceptions of rule of law have a long history in western society and have been influenced by both liberal and social ideals. Contemporary conceptions of the rule of law are tightly bound with specific notions of liberal democracy. It is hypothesised that there are distinctly identifiable opinions, beliefs and views of the rule of law present in South African democracy, and that these can be systematically described at the hand of a conceptual typology. The conceptual typology developed, identifies two contending interpretations of the rule of law, namely liberal and social rule of law. Liberal rule of law emphasises the status of the individual, moral plurality and the creation and maintenance of a rule-based society of the future. In contrast, social rule of law places emphasis on the status of the community, a single communally defined conception of the moral good and places greater emphasis on righting past injustices. Other publications that address the themes of democracy and the rule of law in South Africa are also examined in order to determine whether there is congruence between the conceptual typology developed in this study and other works. It is found that the conceptual typology is congruent with other works that depict the African National Congress’s conception of democracy, equality and liberty. These congruencies validate and strengthen the conceptual typology developed in this study. The conceptual typology is subsequently applied to a specific court case, the AfriForum v Malema hate speech case. The conceptual typology is found to be sufficiently accurate in analysing contending beliefs associated with the rule of law as expressed in this court case and identifies the African National Congress’s conception of the rule of law as falling under the social rule of law and AfriForum’s conception as aligning to the liberal rule of law. It is concluded that the conceptual typology can be empirically validated at the hand of the selected case. The conceptual typology is therefore validated with other works (conceptually) and with a specific case (empirically). It is concluded that the conceptual typology provides a clear, robust, concise and comprehensive analytical description of values and beliefs associated with the rule of law in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek of daar uiteenlopende en teenstrydige interpretasies oor die oppergesag van die reg teenwoordig is binne die Suid Afrikaanse demokrasie. Die studie stel voor dat die oppergesag van die reg deel uitmaak van die wyse waarop alledaagse samelewingsinteraskies, asook demokrasie, verstaan word. Die oppergesag van die reg word gedefinieer in terme van kognitiewe modelle, wat die belanghebbende partye se konsepsie van hierdie instelling beïnvloed. Die oppergesag van die reg word dus as element van spesifieke kulturele begrip vertolk en meer as institusionele element, wat die behoud van reëls waarborg, beskou. Dit word gewys dat konsepsies van die oppergesag van die reg lang geskiedenis in westerse samelewing het en dat dit deur liberale en sosiale ideale beïnvloed is. Kontemporêre konsepsies van die oppergesag van die reg het noue bande met die liberale demokrasie. Die hipotese is dat daar afsonderlik identifiseerbare opinies, oortuigings en sieninge van die oppergesag van die reg teenwoordig is in die Suid Afrikaanse demokrasie, en dat hierdie opinies sistematies aan die hand van konseptuele tipologie beskryf kan word. Die konseptuele tipologie wat ontwikkel word in hierdie studie identifiseer twee konsepsies van die oppergesag van die reg, naamlik die liberale- en die sosiale oppergesag van die reg. Liberale oppergesag van die reg plaas klem op die status van die individu, morele pluraliteit en die skep en handhawing van reëlsgebaseerde toekomsgerigte samelewing. Hierteenoor word die sosiale oppergesag van die reg gekontrasteer wat klem plaas op die status van gemeenskap of groep, enkele kommunale gedefinieerde konsepsie van die morele doelwit voortsit terwyl die klem geplaas word op die regstelling van ongeregtighede van die verlede. Ander publikasies wat die temas van demokrasie en oppergesag van die reg in Suid Afrika aanspreek, word ook bestudeer om sodoende ooreenkomste tussen die konseptuele tipologie wat hier ontwikkel word, en die bestaande literatuur vas te stel. Daar word gevind dat die konseptuele tipologie wel ooreenkomste met ander werke, wat die African National Congress se konsepsies van demokrasie, gelykheid en vryheid bestudeer, vind. Die ooreenkomste valideer en versterk die konseptuele tipologie. Die konseptuele tipologie word ook toegepas op spesifieke hofsaak, naamlik die AfriForum v Malema haatspraaksaak. Daar word gevind dat die konseptuele tipologie wel akkurate analise van teenstrydige opinies, wat geassosieer word met die oppergesag van die reg, moontlik maak. Die African National Congress se konsepsie word in die kategorie van die sosiale oppergesag van die reg geplaas terwyl AfriForum se siening in die kategorie van die liberale oppergesag van die reg geplaas word. Dit word bevind dat die konseptuele tipologie voldoen aan empiriese validasie aan die hand van geselekteerde saak. Die konseptuele tipologie word daarvolgens gevalideer met ander werke (konseptueel), asook met spesifieke gevallestudie (empiries). Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die konseptuele tipologie duidelike, robuuste, bondige en omvattende analitiese beskrywing van die waardes en oortuigings, wat geassosieer word met die oppergesag van reg in Suid Afrika, beskryf.

On cover: Degree of Master of Philosophy in Political Management. / Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Before a country can have democracy a consolidated democracy, democracy is a prerequisite. The term democracy can be traced back to ancient Greece and the studies of the consolidation of democracy dates since the transition of the seventies. The notion of democratic consolidation has been defined by authors as a process of making new democracies secure, deepening institutions and liberties and making them immune against the threat of authoritarian regression. But authors have also found that there are socioeconomic conditions favourable to consolidation such as sufficient affluence. This study compares Botswana and South Africa's democracy, the reason being to find out which is the most consolidated and why? To compare these two countries' democracies, the study focuses on the following; affluence, institutions suitable for democracy, free and fair elections and electoral systems. There are similarities and differences between these countries. They share British parliamentary traditions. Both practice multiparty elections but neither experienced turnovers, for example; Botswana started practicing from 1965 until now, while South Africa started in 1994. The major institutional difference is the electoral system. Their ratings in the human development indexes are declining, but South Africa scores better. The other major difference is in their Freedom House ratings, where South Africa's rating is better than Botswana's. The issue of HIV/AIDS infections remains a big problem for these countries. To what extent this would impact on democracy is uncertain as little research of this kind has been done. In concluding this study, it is explicitly stated that these countries are free electoral democracies but not consolidated yet, because they have not passed Huntington's "two turnover test", and their socio-economic conditions are also problematic. At this stage, however South Africa is slightly better off for the reasons cited above. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Demokrasie is "n voorvereiste vir "n gekonsolideerde demokrasie. Hoewel die term demokrasie sy oorsprong het by die antieke Grieke dateer studies oor die konsolidasie van demokrasieë slegs terug na die sewentigerjare van die 20ste eeu. Demokratiese konsolidasie verwys na die proses waarvolgens nuwe demokrasieë na hul aanvanklike vestiging teen die gevaar van outoritêre verval beveilig word deur die daarstelling van demokratiese instellings en vryhede. Navorsing het bevind dat sekere sosio-ekonomiese faktore of omstandighede soos byvoorbeeld voldoende ekonomiese voorspoed die konsolidasie van jong demokrasieë bevorder. Die studie behels "n vergelyking van die demokrasieë van Suid-Afrika en Botswana ten opsigte van hulle graad van demokratiese konsolidasie en die redes daarvoor. Die studie fokus in die verband op aspekte soos: ekonomiese voorspoed, die demokratiese aard van hulle instellings, vrye en regverdige verkiesings en hulle kiesstelsels. Daar is beide ooreenkomste en verskille tussen die twee state. Beide is gesetel in die Britse parlementêre stelsel. Beide gebruik sedert hulle vestiging as demokrasieë veelparty vekiesings - Botswana sedert 1965 en Suid-Afrika sedert 1994. Die belangrikste institusionele verskil is in hulle kiesstelsels geleë. Hoewel die lande se klassifikasies beide in die indekse sowel as die verslae oor menslike ontwikkeling daal, vaar Suid-Afrika steeds beter as Botswana. Die duidelikste verskil is ten opsigte van hulle Freedom House klassifikasie. Die kwessie van MIVjVIGS-infeksies bly steeds "n belangrike probleem vir beide state. Vanweë die gebrek aan navorsing in die verband is dit onseker in watter mate die VIGS-kwessie demokrasie in die lande in die toekoms gaan beinvloed. Die gevolgtrekking van die tesis is dat hoewel beide state vrye demokrasieë is hulle nog nie as gekonsolideerde demokrasieë geklassifiseer kan word nie. Die gevolgtrekking is hoofsaaklik gebaseer op hulle problematiese sosioekonomiese omstandighede en die feit dat hulle nog nie Huntington se /I two turnover test" geslaag het nie. Suid-Afrika is egter op grond van die redes wat hierbo aangevoer is, tans beter as Botswana daaraan toe.

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The central question of this thesis is whether education policy frameworks are sufficient to transform the higher education system in South Africa. I hold that higher education policy initiatives promulgated in statutory documents such as the White Paper 3 on Higher Education Transformation of 1997 and the Higher Education Act of 1997 are not sufficient to guide educational transformation in universities. My main claim is that as higher education role players we also need to pursue practices driven from "inside" (Gutman 1998: 34) whereby we can develop the "strength of will" to contribute towards initiating equal access and development and, enhancing accountability and quality at our universities. I hold that in order to practice higher education transformation from "inside" (Gutman 1998: 34), one can justifiably pursue a reflexive democratic praxis for the reason that it involves a form of "doing action" with some worthwhile, rational end in mind. It has to do with engaging in reflexive and democratic action attuned to social experience, more specifically higher education, where possibilities may be contemplated, reflected upon, transformed and deepened. To deepen our understanding of our actions involves asking questions about "what we have not thought to think" (Lather 1991: 156). I argue that philosophy of education, more specifically conceptual analysis, is an indispensable means by which we can develop such a deeper, clearer, more informed and better reasoned understanding about the current shifts in higher education transformation in post- apartheid South Africa. Simultaneously, I use conceptual analysis to show why and how the idea of a reflexive democratic praxis can become a "satisfying sense of personal meaning, purpose, and commitment" (Soltis 1998: 196) to guide our activities as educators in the higher education realm. The general principle, which shapes a reflexive democratic praxis, is rationality. Rationality is shaped by logically necessary conditions such as "educational discourse", "reflexive action" and "ethical activity to promote the moral good" in the forms of truthtelling and sincerity, freedom of thought, clarity, non-arbitrariness, impartiality, a sense of relevance, consistency and respect for evidence and people. My contention is that appealing to moral notions of rationality is where the strength of a reflexive democratic praxis lies. In this sense I further elucidate rationality which I argue can create spaces for achieving democratic education which, in tum, holds much promise for shaping teaching and learning through distance education, research and community service in the context of higher education transformation in South Africa. I use "touchstones" which evolve out of rationality, namely access, relevance and dialogism, to show how the idea of a reflexive democratic praxis can contribute towards shaping higher education transformation in South Africa. I provide an overview of the South African higher education policy framework, in particular its concern with issues of equality, development, accountability and quality, which can be linked to and guided by "touchstones" of a reflexive democratic praxis. A reflexive democratic praxis implies a shift towards socially distributed knowledge production which in turn shapes higher education transformation. By reflecting on instances related to the institution where I work, I argue that a more nuanced understanding of higher education has the potential to initiate equal access and , development on the one hand, and to enhance accountability and quality on the other hand. I conclude with the idea that a reflexive democratic praxis can provide higher education practitioners with a conceptual frame to organise their discourses in such a way as to contribute towards transforming their activities and that of their institutions. In this way they might contribute towards addressing the demands of equality, development, accountability and quality in South African higher education. KEYWORDS: Philosophy of education, conceptual analysis, reflexivity, democracy, praxis, higher education, transformation and South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die sentrale kwessie wat hierdie proefskrif aanspreek, is die vraag of die raamwerke vir onderwysbeleid genoegsaam is vir die transformasie van hoër onderwys in Suid-Afrika. Ek is van mening dat die proklamasie van inisiatiewe ten opsigte van die beleid vir hoër onderwys in statutêre dokumente soos die Witskrif 3 oor die Transformasie van Hoër Onderwys (1997) en die Wet vir Hoër Onderwys (1997) nie genoegsaam is om transformasie aan universiteite te rig nie. My hoofstandpunt is dat ons, die rolspelers in hoër onderwys, ook aandag moet gee aan praktyke wat "van binne uit" gedryf word (Gutman 1998: 34). Op so 'n manier kan ons die "wilskrag" ontwikkel wat sal bydra tot die inisiering van gelyke toelating en ontwikkeling en die versterking van verantwoordelikheid en kwaliteit aan ons universiteite. Ek is van mening dat dit geregverdig is om die transformasie van hoër onderwys "van binne uit" te bewerkstellig deur 'n refleksiewe demokratiese praktyk omdat dit 'n soort aksie verg wat 'n betekenisvolle rasionele doel het. Dit gaan oor refleksiewe en demokratiese aksies wat afgestem is op sosiale ondervinding, veralop die hoër onderwys, waar verskillende moontlikhede oorweeg kan word, daaroor gereflekteer kan word en dit dan getransformeer en verdiep kan word. Ter wille van die verdieping van ons begrip van ons aksies moet vrae gevra word oor "what we have not thought to think" (Lather 1991: 156). My argument is dat die filosofie van die opvoeding, meer spesifiek 'n konseptuele analise, 'n onontbeerlike manier is om 'n dieper, duideliker, meer informatiewe en beter beredeneerde begrip te ontwikkel van die huidige klemverskuiwings in die transformasie van die hoër onderwys in 'n post-apartheid Suid-Afrika. Daarmee saam gebruik ek konseptuele analise om aan te toon waarom en hoe die idee van 'n refleksiewe demokratiese praktyk 'n "satisfying sense of personal mearung, purpose, and commitment" (Soltis 1998: 196) kan word om ons aktiwiteite as opvoedkundiges in die hoër onderwys te kan rig. Die algemene beginsel wat aan 'n refleksiewe demokratiese praktyk sy vorm gee is 'n rasionaliteit. Rasionaliteit word gevorm deur logies-noodsaaklike beginsels, bv "opvoedkundige diskoers", "refleksiewe aksie" en "etiese aktiwiteite wat goeie moraliteit bevorder" soos dit aangetref word in die praat van die waarheid, opregtheid, vryheid van denke, helderheid, nie-arbitrêrheid, onpartydigheid, 'n sin vir relevansie, konstantheid en respek vir bewysstukke en mense. My standpunt is dat die sterkte van 'n refleksiewe demokratiese beleid daarin geleë is dat dit aanspraak maak op morele kwessies van rasionaliteit. Ek verklaar rasionaliteit in hierdie sin verder deur te beweer dat dit die plek is om demokratiese onderwys te verwerklik, wat op sy beurt groot beloftes inhou vir onderrig en leer deur middel van afstandsonderwys, navorsing en gemeenskapsdiens in die konteks van die transformasie van hoër onderwys in Suid-Afrika. Ek gebruik kwaliteitsaanduiders wat ontwikkel uit rasionaliteit, naamlik toeganklikheid, relevansie en samevattings om aan te toon hoe die idee van 'n refleksiewe demokratiese praktyk kan bydra tot die vorming van die transformasie van hoër onderwys in Suid- Afrika. Ek verskaf 'n oorsig oor die raamwerk vir die Suid-Afrikaanse beleid oor hoër onderwys, In die besonder oor aspekte soos gelykheid, ontwikkeling en verantwoordbaarheid, wat gekoppel kan word aan en geng kan word deur die kwaliteitsaanduiders van 'n refleksiewe demokratiese praktyk. 'n Refleksiewe demokratiese praktyk impliseer 'n klemverskuiwing in die rigting van sosiaal-verspreide kennisproduksie wat vorm gee aan die transformasie van hoër onderwys. Deur te reflekteer oor gebeure wat verband hou met die inrigting waar ek werk, argumenteer ek dat 'n fyner genuanseerde omskrywing van hoër onderwys die potensiaal het om aan die een kant gelyke toeganklikheid en ontwikkeling te inisieer en aan die ander kant om verantwoordbaarheid en kwaliteit te versterk. Ek sluit af met die gedagte dat 'n refleksiewe demokratiese praktyk die praktisyns van hoër onderwys van 'n konseptuele raamwerk kan voorsien wat hul diskussies op so 'n manier salorganiseer dat dit sal bydra tot die transformasie van hulle aktiwiteite en die van die inrigtings waarby hulle betrokke is. Op so 'n manier kan 'n bydrae gelewer word tot die aanspreek van die eise van gelykheid, ontwikkeling en verantwoordbaarheid en kwaliteit van hoër onderwys in Suid-Afrika. SLEUTELBEGRIPPE: Filosofie van die opvoeding. konseptuele analise, refleksiwiteit, demokrasie, praktyk, hoër onderwys, transformasie en Suid-Afrika.