Doctoral Degrees (Political Science)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Political Science) by browse.metadata.advisor "Du Toit, P."

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    The size and composition of the South African middle class : implications for a consolidating democracy
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000) Garcia Rivero, Carlos; Kotze, H.; Du Toit, P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study attempts to reach some conclusions about the possibility of the South African democracy to endure. It does so through entering into the so-called preconditions for democracy field, concretely, by the observation of the changes in and the composition of the South African middle class as a feature of democratic consolidation. Middle classes are regarded as an important political actor in democratisation and it is difficult to fmd a stable democracy without a well-developed and large middle class. Actually, the democratisation movements have mostly been led by middle classes. Moreover, the size of the middle class in a particular society is also indicative of the level of income inequality, which is another important indicator for the success of democratisation. From a theoretical perspective, the study presents the different existing approaches to democratisation in general, and to middle class democracy in particular. Then, it focuses on a case study: South Africa. The variables for the research then are, "middle class" as an independent variable; and "democratic consolidation" as a dependent variable. The hypothesis that links them therefore is as follows: The larger the middle class, the greater the chance for the consolidation of democracy. From an empirical perspective the research tests the above hypothesis by making use of extensive quantitative data. Both variables are then operationalised and their tendencies of growth are measured, presented and explained. Middle class is operationalised in terms of occupation. Consolidated democracy is operationalised in terms of political tolerance and trust in the institutions. Political tolerance refers to the procedural part of democracy, whereas trust relates to the substantive dimension of democracy. The major fin