THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN ADVANCEMENT OF DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH AFRICA
Main Article Content
Phoke Alpha Ragwata
In South Africa, a nation dealing with issues like socioeconomic inequality and governmental corruption, this study explored the vital role that civil society plays in promoting democracy. The aim was to examine the ways in which civil society organizations support civic engagement, hold the government responsible, and aid in democratic processes. The study highlights the diverse contributions of civil society by synthesizing existing literature, reports, and case studies using a thorough desktop research process. Results shows that civil society serves as a watchdog, promoting openness and human rights while also increasing public awareness and involvement. In order to preserve and improve democratic norms and guarantee a fairer and more inclusive political environment in South Africa, the conclusion highlights the importance of bolstering civil society.
Adolphson, M., & Jonsson, D. (2020). Uncover the theory practice gap in Swedish transport planning: An interdisciplinary approach. European Planning Studies, 28(11), 2237-2260.
Bamford, L. (2021). Civil society in South Africa: The challenge of resilience. South African Journal of International Affairs, 28(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2021.1879203
Banasick, S. (2019). KADE: A desktop application for Q methodology. Journal of Open Source Software, 4(36), 1360.
Car, R. (2019). A reply to Sujit Choudhry’s ‘resisting democratic backsliding’: Weimar legacy and self-enforcing constitutions in post-WWII left-wing constitutional theory. Global Constitutionalism, 8(2), 391-423.
CDE. (2016). The State of Civil Society in South Africa. Centre for Development and Enterprise. Retrieved from CDE website.
Christens, B. D., Gupta, J., & Speer, P. W. (2021). Community organizing: Studying the development and exercise of grassroots power. Journal of Community Psychology, 49(8), 3001-3016.
Claridge, T. (2018). Criticisms of social capital theory: and lessons for improving practice. Social capital research, 4(2), 1-8.
De Prins, P. (2022). ‘Beyond the clash?’: Union–management partnership through social dialogue on sustainable HRM. Lessons from Belgium. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 36(1), 32-52.
Everatt, D. (2005). The Changing Face of Civil Society in South Africa. Development Update, 6(1), 1-24.
Gannon, B., & Roberts, J. (2020). Social capital: exploring the theory and empirical divide. Empirical Economics, 58(3), 899-919.
Gelderblom, D. (2018). The limits to bridging social capital: Power, social context and the theory of Robert Putnam. The Sociological Review, 66(6), 1309-1324.
Gen, S., & Wright, A. C. (2018). Strategies of policy advocacy organizations and their theoretical affinities: evidence from Q‐methodology. Policy Studies Journal, 46(2), 298-326.
Huang, Y. M. (2019). Examining students' continued use of desktop services: Perspectives from expectation-confirmation and social influence. Computers in Human Behavior, 96, 23-31.
Ibrahim, S. E. (2022). CHAPTER ONE CIVIL SOCIETY AND PROSPECTS OF DEMOCRATIZATION IN THE ARAB WORLD. Civil Society in the Middle East, Volume 1, 50, 27.
Jansen, J. (2022). Civil society under threat: Repression and resilience in South Africa. African Studies Review, 65(1), 23-45. https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2021.69
Kasim, N. M., Fauzi, M. A., Wider, W., & Yusuf, M. F. (2022). Understanding social media usage at work from the perspective of social capital theory. Administrative Sciences, 12(4), 170.
Le Van, C., Nguyen, A. N., Nguyen, N. M., & Simioni, M. (2018). Growth strategy with social capital, human capital and physical capital—Theory and evidence: The case of Vietnam. Journal of Public Economic Theory, 20(5), 768-787.
Lewis, P. (2018). Political transition and the dilemma of civil society in Africa. In Africa (pp. 137-158). Routledge.
Lodge, T. (2010). Political parties in South Africa: The role of civil society in the new democracy. Journal of African Elections, 9(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.20940/jae/2010/v9i2a1
Maharaj, B. (2014). The impact of legal constraints on civil society in South Africa. Politikon, 41(3), 397-415. https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2014.927334
Maphosa, T. (2020). Grassroots Movements and Civil Society: Mobilizing for Change in South Africa. Social Movement Studies, 19(5), 511-526.
Masipa, T. (2018). South Africa's transition to democracy and democratic consolidation: A reflection on socio‐economic challenges. Journal of public affairs, 18(4), e1713.
Mbeki, T. (2018). The role of civil society in social change. African Journal of Political Science, 13(1), 87-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/23253751.2018.1463540
Meng, A., & DiSalvo, C. (2018). Grassroots resource mobilization through counter-data action. Big Data & Society, 5(2), 2053951718796862.
Moitra, A., Kumar, A., & Seth, A. (2018). An analysis of community mobilization strategies of a voice-based community media platform in rural India. Information Technologies & International Development, 14, 18.
Mooneeapen, O., Abhayawansa, S., & Mamode Khan, N. (2022). The influence of the country governance environment on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 13(4), 953-985.
Ntsimane, R. (2013). The struggle for human rights in South Africa: The role of civil society organizations. Journal of Southern African Studies, 39(4), 891-907. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2013.844943
Pillay, U., & Oelofse, C. (2016). Civil society and the challenge of accountability in South Africa. African Journal of Governance and Development, 5(1), 22-36. https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3660/2016/v5n1a2
Ramutsindela, M. (2019). Environmental civil society organizations in South Africa: Facing the challenge of state repression. Environmental Politics, 28(5), 844-861. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2019.1594863
Rasmussen, A., Mäder, L. K., & Reher, S. (2018). With a little help from the people? The role of public opinion in advocacy success. Comparative Political Studies, 51(2), 139-164.
Runciman, C. (2020). The fragmentation of civil society in South Africa: Causes and consequences. Journal of African Politics, 25(4), 497-516. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773920000180
Seekings, J. (2016). The limits of civil society in South Africa: A reflection on the past two decades. South African Review of Sociology, 47(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2016.1190687
Sellers, J. M., Lidström, A., & Bae, Y. (2020). Multilevel democracy: How local institutions and civil society shape the modern state. Cambridge University Press.
Smith, E. C., & Hamel, Z. (2023). Global civil society. In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies (pp. 616-618). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Van Rooy, A., & Robinson, M. (2020). Out of the ivory tower: civil society and the aid system. In Civil society and the aid industry (pp. 31-70). Routledge.
Van Zyl, A. (2019). Threats to civil society in South Africa: Analyzing the current landscape. African Journal of Governance and Development, 8(3), 45-63. https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3660/2019/v8n3a4
Wiarda, H. (2018). Civil society: The American model and third world development. Routledge.
Woolman, S. (2019). The relationship between civil society and the state in South Africa: Challenges and opportunities. South African Journal on Human Rights, 35(2), 217-234. https://doi.org/10.17159/2076-3045/2019/v35n2a4
Worrell, F. C., Subotnik, R. F., & Olszewski-Kubilius, P. (2018). Engaging in advocacy and affecting public policy. In Publishing in School Psychology and Related Fields (pp. 289-302). Routledge.