Browsing by Author "Martin, Lauren Amber"

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    A review of political participation in democratic South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Martin, Lauren Amber; Steenekamp, Cindy-Lee; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Political participation by citizens is regarded as a key principle or core component of a democratic system. South Africa is relatively newly democratised country and relies on this participation from its citizens to build legitimacy. Since democratisation, all South Africans (of voting age) have had the opportunity to participate in free and fair elections. Elections and participation in elections (i.e., electoral behaviour) are essential for building legitimacy in a democratic political system, the government and its incumbents. The act of voting is also considered the most popular form of political participation. More recently, empirical evidence reveals a downward trend in electoral behaviour in South Africa. While this trend alone does not necessarily threaten the legitimacy of the political system, it is worrisome that the decline in conventional political participation (such as voting) has been coupled with an increase in more unconventional forms of political protest (such as protest). This study investigates political participation in a democratic South Africa with a focus on conventional and unconventional political behaviour. More specifically, this study identifies the various ways in which South Africans participate in the political system and explores some of the possible explanations for political participation. In order to address the research questions, a comprehensive review of conventional and unconventional political participation in South Africa was conducted, using South Africa as the chosen case study and employing a qualitative desktop analysis method. This study demonstrated that South Africans are largely withdrawing from participating in acts of a conventional nature, which is largely being exhibited in the declining trends of both voter registration and voter turnout. Acts of an unconventional nature, on the other hand, are being employed more often, across broad spectrums of society, and for a myriad of reasons. The most popular form of unconventional political behaviour, protest action, has increasingly become a prevalent mechanism in the South African political landscape and is not likely to dissipate any time soon.