South Africans hold contradictory views about their democracy

By Joleen Steyn Kotze, Senior Research Specialist in Democracy, Governance and Service Delivery at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State

How do South Africans view democracy? Are they in the camp of those who see democracy through a more authoritarian lens – in other words, where the state plays a more intrusive role? Or do they see democracy as more participatory, where citizens have a greater say?

This is an important question as the country commemorates 27 years of constitutional democracy after the historic founding election on 27 April 1994.

The celebrations come against the backdrop of a gradual…

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