Democracy & Governance

The relationship between democracy and governance and the realisation of socio-economic rights is an important issue for debate. SACSIS seeks to understand this relationship and identify issues that act as barriers to pro-poor democracy.

South Africa Lacks a Game Plan: Even the Bafana Coach Has Left

Picture: Subcomandanta Mohamed Motala - These days we are faced with seemingly perplexing questions about South Africa. After a decade and a half of democracy, poverty and underdevelopment continue to deepen in some areas. Open and direct racist behaviour is directed at black people. Violence against women takes on a very public presentation, as taxi drivers assault women for wearing skirts. And our columnists and newspaper editors are debating whether it is appropriate to discuss the native question. On top of all this, the...

Opening Editorial: A Decade of Denial

Picture: Ismail Farouk Fazila Farouk - The anniversary of South Africa’s decade of democracy signalled a turning point in the way many South Africans view this country. Since then we’ve been treated to a gaggle of critiques measuring the gains of our democracy. The overall conclusion has been that it was a decade of poor gains. A decade of missed opportunities. A decade marked by a paucity of ideas about how to achieve real transformation, and most alarming of all, a decade of denial. Extreme denial...