Browsing by Subject "democracy"
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- ItemOpen AccessConclusion: children as citizens(Children's Institute, 2011) Jamieson, Lucy; Pendlebury, Shirley; Bray, Rachel
- ItemOpen AccessGrowing up in the new South Africa: childhood and adolescence in post-apartheid Cape Town(2011) Bray, Rachel; Gooskens, Imke; Moses, Sue; Kahn, Lauren; Seekings, JeremyHow has the end of apartheid affected the experiences of South African children and adolescents? This pioneering study provides a compelling account of the realities of everyday life for the first generation of children and adolescents growing up in a democratic South Africa. The authors examine the lives of young people across historically divided communities at home, in the neighbourhoods where they live, and at school. This resource can be used be anyone interested in developing their knowledge on the experiences of children in post-apartheid South Africa.
- ItemOpen AccessThe judiciary and government(2014-09-23) Davis, Dennis; Le Roux, MichelleThis lecture series will be of interest to law students, legal practitioners and others in fields related to human rights, freedom of information and the reform and redistribution of land. Lecture series coordinated by Judge Dennis Davis, Judge of the High Court of South Africa & Michelle le Roux, Advocate of the High Court and Senior Visiting Fellow, Mandela Institute, Wits Law School. Tension between the elected government and the judiciary is common in constitutional democracies which feature the separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and legislature. However, in South Africa, concerns about excessive judicial intervention in politics and the unsuitability of our constitution to the social and economic developmental needs of the country have increasingly become more vocal. This lecture series will consider the role of the judiciary in our developing country as it strives to embed constitutional democracy. It will look at the dangers of judicial over- or under-reach and the possible threats to and opportunities for our constitutional model. Two panel discussions will focus on recent challenges related to land reform and information freedom respectively. LECTURE TITLES: *1. The good, bad and ugly: models of constitutional adjudication - Michelle le Roux; *2. How have we done? An examination of court success and failure through key cases - Judge Dennis Davis; *3. Panel on slow land reform and redistribution: the challenge to align the constitution - Mazibuko Jara (Law, Race & Gender Research Unit, UCT); *4. Panel on media and information freedoms under threat - Okyerebea Ampofo-Anti; *5. How concerned should we be about our constitutional health? - Judge Dennis Davis & Michelle le Roux.
- ItemOpen AccessLawfare and legitimacy: The wicked problem of judicial resilience at a time of judicialisation of politics in South Africa(2021) Dent, Kate; Corder, HughIn the period from 2009-2020, South Africa has witnessed the rise of "lawfare". Lawfare is understood as the judicialisation of politics - turning to the courts and the use of the law to resolve broadly political matters. This thesis explores the unfolding implications of the judicialisation of politics for judicial legitimacy. In the displacement of the political into the judicial the reach of the courts is expanded and the legitimacy of courts engaging in a "political" role is questioned. Situated in the field of judicial-political dynamics, the interplay between law and politics is observed through the adoption of a historical-institutionalist model. This thesis identifies the causes of the judicialisation of politics and then traces its consequences for broader constitutional stability and the impact on the judicial institution. Guidelines for the Court to navigate lawfare to achieve institutional resilience and maintain judicial legitimacy are then proposed. Judicialisation of politics is caused primarily through the failures of the other branches of government to fulfil their assigned constitutional role. Institutional imbalance in a dominant party democracy means that opposition parties and civil society organisations are left with little recourse but to appeal to the Court to be a constitutional bulwark. The Court is then compelled to step into the breach and fill the accountability vacuum. In identifying the causes of judicialisation, a fuller understanding of Lawfare emerges, expanding current scholarship beyond its traditionally abusive characterisation. It posits a duality to Lawfare in that it can be both an abuse of law and a last line of defence. Through observing the judicial political interactions, a trajectory from the judicialisation of politics to the politicisation of law is mapped. The politicisation of law sees political power refocused on the courts, exposing them to political aggression and attack by the dominant party. The judicialisation of politics that seeks accountability from recalcitrant political actors asks much of the courts, at a time when ensuring executive oversight is the most dangerous, because of the ease with which a hostile executive in a dominant party democracy can implement measures that may undermine the independence of the judiciary. The Constitutional Court has shown a remarkable ability to navigate this era of Lawfare, remaining resolute under fire. However, the more successful the Court is in holding the line against executive abuse of power, the more the judicial route is identified as a powerful weapon to achieve more abusive political objectives. The relationship between Lawfare and legitimacy is identified as a wicked problem that demands expanding boundaries to observe the courts influence on the political environment, and the political environment's influence on the judicial role and its legitimacy. Through advancing a multi-dimensional paradigm of judicial legitimacy, the dialectics of judicial legitimacy are shown to be aggravated by the judicialisation of politics. In this respect it is argued that where the foundations and assumptions on which legitimacy is predicated shift, legitimacy must be re-examined. It is therefore argued that in a culture marked by an impunified disregard of non-judicial regulatory enforcement and increasing non-compliance with judicial orders, the impulse to preserve legitimacy through a detached, formalist stance will not be sufficient. Judicial legitimacy must be relocated in the ability of the Court to be responsive. Pulled into the role of judicial statesmanship, the Court must adopt a robust approach to assertively uphold the rule of law. In tracking the unfolding consequences of the judicialisation of politics, the Court is asked to resolve matters beyond its institutional capabilities. Absent the normative commitment to the rule of law, the internationalisation of constitutional norms, and the political interest to implement remedial orders, the Court is unable to effect workable relief. In tracing the dangers of the continued trend of Lawfare, the thesis sketches a downward spiral of reputational strength of the Court and a decline in democratic responsibility. This leads to an inability to achieve effective reform that ends in disenchantment, questioning the faith placed in the Constitution. It depicts how the Constitutional Court as 'constitutional saviour' can unravel into constitutional blame. The Constitutional Court has been able to hold the line in this era of Lawfare and repel assaults on its integrity and efforts to undermine its independence. However, without a broader culture of commitment to the rule of law, civil education and a suffusion of constitutional responsibility beyond the judiciary, the Court will not be able to continue to shoulder the weight of what is asked of it. This research depicts a circular model of Lawfare and legitimacy, where Lawfare is predicated on judicial legitimacy, but an overreliance on Lawfare will destroy judicial legitimacy.
- ItemOpen AccessLooking back: Insider views on the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2014) McGrath, Chloë; Van der Spuy, ElrenaThe establishment of a constitutional democracy in South Africa necessitated widespread institutional reforms across state sectors. A key feature of such reforms was the emphasis on oversight and accountability as illustrated in reform endeavours pursued in the South African Police Service, courts and prisons. One such oversight mechanism – the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) – is the subject of this article. Drawing on qualitative interviews with people closely involved with the JICS since 1998, this article presents 'insider views' regarding the JICS. We conclude with incumbents' views on the effectiveness of the JICS.
- ItemMetadata onlyParliaments and the enhancement of democracy on the African continent: An analysis of institutional capacity and public perceptions(Taylor & Francis, 2006) Lia Nijzink; Mozaffar, Shaheen; Azevedo, ElisabeteWhile modern parliaments in Africa receive little attention in the scholarly literature, they are drawing considerable attention from the international donor community. Since the early 1990s, when many African countries resumed multi-party elections and democratic practices, legislative strengthening programmes have become an important part of international democracy assistance. Despite these programmes, our knowledge about Africa's current parliaments remains limited. They seem to be widely regarded as potential agents for democratic change but whether national legislatures are in fact enhancing the quality of democracy on the African continent is far from clear. This study discusses two important issues that lie at the heart of the democracy-enhancing potential of Africa's current parliaments: their institutional capacity and the way they are perceived by the citizens they represent. After a brief review of the existing literature on legislatures in Africa, the essay first considers whether they have the institutional capacity to fulfil a meaningful role and provides a detailed description of the autonomy of parliaments in 16 selected countries. It then turns to the way Africans perceive and evaluate their parliaments. Do citizens see their legislatures as valuable institutions? Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the prospects of African parliaments becoming agents of democratic change.
- ItemOpen AccessPublic opinion research in emerging democracies: are the processes different?(2007) Mattes, RobertThis paper outlines the larger methodological, logistical and political challenges confronting survey researchers in emerging democracies in developing country contexts, particularly in Africa. Overcoming these challenges often means that comparative social scientific surveys of public opinion are designed, executed, and received in very different ways than in the West. But rather than simply seeing these differences as blemishes that need to be gradually ameliorated, we may have much more to learn from the globalization of public opinion research than the simple accumulation of more data from exotic settings.
- ItemOpen AccessStealing Empire: P2P, intellectual property and hip-hop subversion(2010) Haupt, AdamStealing Empire poses the question, ""What possibilities for agency exist in the age of corporate globalisation?"" Using the work of Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt as a point of entry, Adam Haupt delves into varied terrain to locate answers in this ground-breaking inquiry. He explores arguments about copyright via peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms such as Napster, free speech struggles, debates about access to information and open content licenses, and develops a politically incisive analysis of counter discourses produced by South African hip-hop artists. Stealing Empire is vital reading for law, media and cultural studies scholars who want to make sense of the ways in which legal and communication strategies are employed to secure hegemony.
- ItemOpen AccessTwenty years of punishment (and democracy) in South Africa the pitfalls of governing crime through the community(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2014) Super, GailThis article examines how the ideology of 'community' is deployed to govern crime in South Africa, both by marginalised black communities and by the government. Although the turn to 'community' started under the National Party government in the late 1970s, there is no doubt that as a site, technology, discourse, ideology and form of governance, 'community' has become entrenched in the post-1994 era. Utilising empirical data drawn from ethnographic research on vigilantism in Khayelitsha, as well as archival materials in respect of ANC policies and practices before it became the governing party, I argue that rallying 'communities' around crime combatting has the potential to unleash violent technologies in the quest for 'ethics' and 'morality'. When community members unite against an outsider they are bonded for an intense moment in a way that masks the very real problems that tear the community apart. Because violent punishment is one of the consequences of the state's turn towards democratic localism, we should question the way in which the 'community' is deployed as a tool of crime prevention, and subject it to rigorous scrutiny.
- ItemOpen AccessWhat underlies children, media and democracy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)(2011) Saleh, IbrahimThe daunting reality of the contemporary world is that autocracies and semi-authoritarian states lack the basic foundation for building a democracy. The media could be a powerful entertainment and educational tool for children, given the right programming. Media also play a crucial role in shaping a healthy democracy, because they simply make us aware of the various social, political and economical activities and developments taking place around the world. Moreover, a democratic system of governance is supposed to enable citizens to choose their rulers and live equally within a state of law and order, where the citizens are the key factor in the process.