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M.A. (Political Science) / This study was done in an attempt to ascertain the nature, extent and development of the support given to the South African political system by Chief Minister Gatsha Buthelezi of KwaZulu. The decision to measure Buthelezi 's support of the system was taken because Buthelezi is one of the most prominent Black South African political leaders with general support of members of the political system. Therefore his support can be considered relevant to the functioning of the political system ...

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On 12 June 1986, at a joint sitting of the three houses of Parliament, the State President declared a National State of Emergency. In his speech he said: “. . .the sporadic instances of violence have once again begun to increase and have taken on such proportions that I am of the opinion that the ordinary laws of the land at present on the statute book are inadequate to enable the Government to ensure the security of the public and to maintain public order.” What were the State President’s reasons for declaring the State of Emergency? Was the Government’s action justified? What of the rule of law? Has the National State of Emergency achieved its objectives? When will the National State of Emergency be lifted?

Nikolas Rose, heavily influenced by Foucault's concept of "governmentality", has proposed that psychological expertise has come to play an important role in governing conduct in liberal democracies. This study was an empirical attempt to explore these theoretical arguments in South Africa, a developing democracy. Recent debates on the practice of psychology in South Africa, occurring amidst socio/political initiatives of reconstruction and development, have focused on the relevance of the discipline given its involvement in the apartheid context. The current study reflected on some of the changes in application that have resulted from calls for relevance. The participants of the study were Masters Graduates from the University ofKwaZulu-Natal, previously University of Natal and University of Durban-Westville, in the period from 19932003. Influenced by Rose's theoretical ideas advocating a history of problematizations, the data collection focussed on understanding the practical problems psychologists deal with in their work contexts and the practices used to solve these problems. Results suggest a growing application towards socially relevant problems, which include socio/economic and public health issues. Furthermore psychological expertise predominantly intervenes with individualized technologies of the self, encouraging "self-government". The governmentality framework exposes some limitations of the application of psychology in the developing world context. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The basic objectives of ANC policy are threefold: * To overcome the legacy of inequality and injustice created by colonialism and apartheid, in a swift, progressive and principled way; * To develop an economy and state infrastructure that will progressively improve the quality of life of all South Africans; and, * To encourage the flourishing of the feeling that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, to promote a common loyalty to and pride in the country and to create a universal sense of freedom and security within its borders. These are not mutually exclusive goals. On the contrary, the future of our country depends on the harmonious and simultaneous realisation of all three. The advancement of the majority of people will, in the medium-and-long-term, release hitherto untapped and suppressed talents and energies that will both boost and diversify the economy. Developing the economy will, in turn, provide the basis for overcoming the divisions of the past without creating new ones. Finally, the achievement of a genuine sense of national unity depends on all of us working together to overcome the inequalities created by apartheid. The beacons guiding these advances are equal rights, nonracialism, non-sexism, democracy and mutual respect. A broad, inclusive approach, free of arrogance or complexes of superiority or inferiority, is fundamental. We have to develop a truly South African vision of our country, one undistorted by the prejudices and sectarianism that has guided viewpoints on race and gender, in the past. We have to rely on the wisdom, life experiences, talents and know-how of all South Africans, men and women. There can be no apartheid in finding solutions to the problems created by apartheid. This document does not present a rigid ANC blue-print for the future of South Africa, to which our supporters will be expected to rally and our opponents required to submit. Rather, the document represents a set of basic guidelines to policies we intend to pursue. These ideas will be developed through discussion within the ANC, and through consultation with the broadest spectrum of South African public opinion. The policies will be adapted according to these processes and on the basis of experience. Our problems run deep It is necessary to dwell on the problems which will be faced by the first government which is elected under a new democratic constitution. It will help create an understanding of the magnitude of the tasks involved in transforming our country into one where everyone can enjoy a reasonable standard of living combined with peace and security. It will underline the fact that there are choices to be made and priorities to be established. The nationalist government has pursued active political and social policies which, amongst others things, have led to: extreme levels of poverty and disease in the rural areas; the creation of urban ghettos where people have been denied access to even the most basic means of survival as a result of severely limited access to decent homes, electricity, water-borne sewerage, tarred roads, and recreational facilities; an education system preparing the majority of South Africans for lives of subordination and low income wage jobs; a social security system geared almost entirely to fulfilling the needs of the white minority; a health system that has seriously neglected the wellbeing of most South Africans; the social and political marginalisation of the majority of people, the African community in particular, their exclusion from public life and decision [ making as well as the denial of their culture. Gender discrimination has either excluded or subordinated the nature of women's participation in all socio-economic and political institutions. Combined with apartheid, this has resulted in African women being the most exploited and poverty stricken section of the South African population. Both the political system of apartheid and the pattern of economic development in our country, have been responsible for these developments. The white minority have used their exclusive access to political and economic power to promote their own sectional interests at the expense of black people and the country's natural resources. Black people have been systematically excluded and disadvantaged economically with the result that South Africa has one of the most unequal patterns of income and wealth distribution in the world. Since the mid-1970s, the South African economy has stagnated. An average growth rate of 6% in the 1960s declined to 3% in the 1970s and is now below 1%. Unemployment is estimated at over 40% of the economically active population. For over forty years, economic strategy was based on expanding industry through the substitution of hitherto imported manufactured goods for the wealthy minority. There has also been an emphasis on strategic industries such as arms and petrochemicals. This led to the emergence of a significant manufacturing sector in our country, but one which is generally uncompetitive in terms of international costs and prices. The alienation of land from the indigenous people and the denial of the African majority's rights to land and political power in our country are intimately connected. The agricultural sector in South Africa is currently experiencing a deep crisis. Debt levels of white farmers have reached R14 billion. These problems have led to rapidly increasing unemployment and a serious decline in living standards. Our people remain divided. We do not know each other. We are prevented from developing a national vision, in terms of which, we would see our country through the eyes of all its citizens, and not just one group or another. We live apart, physically separated, spiritually alienated, frightened of getting too close, knowing that we have different life-chances and different views of what change means. We are ruled by a multiplicity of fragmented departments, boards, councils and ministries. Apartheid has left us apart. Policies for transformation In this context it is vital that the ANC develops a clear response. This response must be aimed both at establishing a new and democratic political dispensation that replaces the racist and undemocratic apartheid constitution and addresses the legacy of apartheid in the broader socio-economic sphere. This document is a direct response to the above challenges. It sets out for discussion a comprehensive set of guidelines highlighting the ANC's broad policy response to all the major areas of political, social and economic life. The document is structured so as to highlight the strong relationship between the creation of political democracy and social and economic transformation. It is critical, however, that we honestly face up to the extent of the problems confronting our country. They are not going to be solved overnight and there are no easy or quick solutions. The problems run deep and resources are limited. Accordingly, the policies proposed here represent our broad vision. These policies highlight, our ultimate goals, which will need to be transformed into effective and realisable programmes in the short-term. In other words, we will need to establish priorities both within each of the different policy areas and between these broad areas. These priorities must be arrived at through democratic discussions and decision making processes and we must establish just and efficient mechanisms for implementing these decisions. Progress will also depend on involving as many sections of our society as possible in finding solutions.

This document is informed by the struggles of women in the fight against colonialism and apartheid which were also encapsulated in the Women’s Charter of 1954. The discussion is also premised on the charter that women drew up in 1993, prior to the 1994 elections. Our Constitution, in its quest to protect and promote gender equality in South Africa, drew largely from these documents.

Winnie Mandela has endured so many scandals over the last ten years that she has acquired a reputation for being untouchable. It is therefore ironic that there are those who feel that "the ANC want to act against Winnie not because of her human rights record, but for her outspoken criticism of the government's inability to deliver houses, thwart crime and testing our feelings on the death penalty." This assessment is instructive because in the "... turbulent years of the 1980s, she was a hero, a living martyr to the black liberation cause and despite the discomforts inflicted on her by her perpetrators, she revelled in the role" (Sparks, 1994:15). But Winnie Madikazela-Mandela, who was a Deputy Minister before being dismissed and who has had to appear before the TRC because of allegations that she was responsible for the death of teenage activist Stompie Seipei, has nevertheless been able to make a political comeback. The thesis therefore sets out to examine the rationale behind the State President's (he did not hold this title then) decision to take a considerable risk in standing by Winnie Madikazela-Mandela (they were at the time married) during her trial on charges of kidnapping in 1991. Even after her conviction, Mandela wrote that "as far as I was concerned, verdict or no verdict, her innocence was not in doubt." This unstinting loyalty was replicated elsewhere. Commenting on her acquittal on the assault charges, ANC Youth League President, Peter Mokaba, said: "What was taken away from her as a result of these false allegations must now be given back". He described the Appellate Division decision as "a political sentence" saying: "It has nothing to do with whether she was guilty or not."3 The ANC has established a practice of accommodating dissidents within its structures and has survived complex challenges during its years in exile by doing so. But political commentators are now asking whether the political cost will prove to be too great.

D.Litt. et Phil. (Politics) / In recent years, growing concerns over the strength of South Africa’s democracy appear to indicate a population increasingly disillusioned and dissatisfied with the quality of its implementation. The overall purpose of this study was to assess the quality of democracy in South Africa after 17 years of democracy and in so doing, to ascertain whether or not this growing perception is valid. The study is essentially an audit of South Africa’s democracy (with a personally derived method of scoring included) and utilises two existing analytical frameworks of democracy assessment, International IDEA’s State of Democracy framework and Leonardo Morlino’s tool for empirical research on democratic qualities, TODEM. The strengths of these two international frameworks are adapted to be applicable specifically to an assessment of South Africa’s democracy. The assessment is based on an analysis of primary and secondary literature and is informed by formal personal interviews and informal personal discussions with identified experts in the various democratic dimensions under assessment. Personal scoring is then based on the qualitative information derived together with the input from these experts which points to shortcomings, deficiencies, achievements and successes in South Africa’s democracy. A definition of democracy is identified followed by four pillars of democracy assessment against which to evaluate South Africa’s democracy: the rule of law and institutional capacity; representative and accountable government; civil society and popular participation; and freedom and equality. Within each pillar, several dimensions are identified, which in turn, comprise several indicators. Overarching considerations are borne in mind throughout the assessment as well as guiding questions that narrow the focus. In terms of the overall categorisation of quality democracy used in the study, that is, ‘low’ (very low presence and application of indicators in general - inefficient democracy); ‘low to medium’(low presence and application of indicators in some of the dimensions but some signs of efficiency in one or more of the other dimensions); ‘medium’ (indicators are present and applied for the most part; possible inertia must be avoided in favour of vigorous and conscientious action to improve on significant problem areas); ‘medium to high’ (indicators are present in most dimensions and are effectively guaranteed in practice barring a few problems); and ‘high’ (indicators are strongly present and fully applied across all dimensions – indicative of a robust, healthy democracy), it was found that South Africa places at the high end of ‘medium’ quality democracy - a positive finding especially given that only 17 years have transpired since the country’s democratisation. This means, therefore, that despite problems, indicators of quality democracy are present for the most part in most dimensions and are effectively guaranteed in practice. Several of the most notable are, namely: consistently free and fair elections; a strong rule of law and independent judiciary; significantly improved participation of women in political life; a dynamic civil society; comprehensive civil and political rights; and a vigilant media actively engaged in its watchdog role. However, where problems do remain, it is essentially as a result of a lack of effective implementation of existing procedural elements. The areas in which South Africa has performed the worst thus far and which therefore present the most challenges in need of improvement are with regard to poor levels of individual security; high levels of corruption, negative effects of cadre deployment; continued existence of discrimination, spreading poverty and inequality; and lack of efficient governance at local level in particular. It is evident that the government must build on the successes achieved and take vigorous action to improve on the identified problem areas in order to continue to strengthen the quality of South Africa’s democracy.

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.