Institutions, Ethnicity, and Political Mobilization in South Africa

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

   PDF

2. Introduction: Ethnic Mobilization during Democratization

   • Jessica Piombo

   Pages 1-19

3. Shaping Strategies of Political Mobilization

   • Jessica Piombo

   Pages 21-35

4. South Africa’s Political Institutions and Social Divisions

   • Jessica Piombo

   Pages 37-61

5. Electoral Politics in South Africa, 1994–2004

   • Jessica Piombo

   Pages 63-77

6. The African National Congress: Playing to Win

   • Jessica Piombo

   Pages 79-101

7. The New National Party: Transforming into Irrelevance

   • Jessica Piombo

   Pages 103-123

8. From Democratic Party to Democratic Alliance: Mobilizing Minority Power?

   • Jessica Piombo

   Pages 125-142

9. The Inkatha Freedom Party: Turning away from Ethnic Power

   • Jessica Piombo

   Pages 143-162

10. Conclusion: The Contingent Nature of Political Mobilization

    • Jessica Piombo

    Pages 163-182

11. Back Matter

    Pages 183-260

    PDF

An investigation of post-apartheid South Africa, which is notable for a history of politicized ethnicity, a complicated network of ethnic groups and for an expectation that ethnic violence would follow the 1994 political transition that did not occur following democratization.

• democratization
• Electoral
• freedom
• liberty
• minority
• nature
• network
• politics
• violence

'Jessica Piombo offers an innovative and provocative explanation for why post-apartheid South Africa has avoided the siren song of ethnic politics that so many scholars predicted would emerge to dominate its new democracy. Rather than any shifts in the social identifies of its citizens, the incentives implied in its new political institutions have (perhaps unwittingly) led its major political parties to de-emphasize the activation of ethnic identities or the courting of regional minorities, and concentrate instead on the pursuit of national power through broad-based campaign appeals. The irony, however, is that these same institutions also work to insulate the countries elected leaders from day to day citizen influence. Piombo thus offers a new, theoretically rooted perspective on a fundamental conundrum of South Africa's emerging democracy.' - Robert Mattes, Professor of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town and Director of the Centre for Social Science Research

JESSICA PIOMBO is an Assistant Professor and Regional Coordinator for Sub-Saharan Africa in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), USA.

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