The State of the People docx

The state of the people: Citizens, civil society and governance in South Africa, 1994-2000 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za The state of the people: Citizens, civil society and governance in South Africa, 1994-2000 Editors: Bert Klandermans Marlene Roefs Johan Olivier Human Sciences Research Council Pretoria 2001 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za [...]... answers to these questions The State of the people reports on how South Africans evaluate their own situation and the new state In this valuable book, the authors ask a pertinent questio n Did the transition to democracy improve the state of the people? We believe so More people are satisfied, more people trust government, and more people identify with the nation than before And although fewer people take... participation) offers a discussion of the extent to which South Africans were interested in politics, and whether they participated in electoral and protest politics We return to the question of demobilisation and explore whether inter est in politics and political participation declined since the change of power in 1994 Chapter 8 (The state of the people) is a summary of South Africans’ evaluation of their state. .. movements and identities are therefore the topics of Chapter 1 (South African politics and collective action: 1994 -2000) The remainder of the report is designed after the key concepts that structured our study Chapter 2 (The distribution of wealth) sets the stage with an account of the socio-economic situation of the four groups that defined the population during the aparthei d era In South Africa wealth... (Department of Political Science, University of the Witwatersrand), Prof Tom Lodge (Department of Political Science, xiii Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za The state of the people University of the Witwatersrand), Prof Bert Klandermans (Department of Social Psychology and Kurt Lewin Institute, Free University, Amsterdam), Prof Hennie Kotzé (Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch),... because they were angered that the poorer coloured neighbourhoods were not included in those areas that were allowed to pay the lowest “flat rate” (Three people were killed in the course of these disturbances.) People were also enraged by electricity cut -offs for bad debts and the expulsion of illegal occupants from a new council -built 15 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za The state of the people. .. change increases the probability of civil conflict and strife, as some sectors of the population expect signifi cant improvements in their position following the removal of economic and political barriers that previously inhibited their upward mobility Other sectors are concerned about a possible decrease in their living standards as a result of the erosion of their privileged position Still others experience... in terms of their personal situation and that of the people they identify with and the new political arrangements of their country xviii Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Chapter 1 South African politics and collective action, 1994-2000 Tom Lodge Institutions, movements and identities have changed with the demise of apartheid For a proper understanding of the survey findings described in the subsequent... proportions of poor people on the one hand and enhanced social mobility on the other In 1998, only 19% of Africans were living in households with per capita incomes of more than R370 per month (Hirschowitz, 2000) However, by 1996 the 700 000 Africans in managerial, professional and “associate professional” gra des of employment represented about half the number of employees in these categories In other words,... 388 in 1998, an increase of 31% (11% in 1997/1998)—to embrace 26% of the economically active population and 30% of economically active Africans Nevertheless, the rise in the number of trade 3 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za The state of the people unions from 194 to 463 reflects an increasingly fragmented workforce, o ne that is more difficult to organise The incidence of strikes fell sharply... in the course of time South Africans assessed their personal situation and that of the group they felt close to In the past the racial cleavage generated strong grievances as witnessed by the liberation struggle, but did it continue to do so after the political landscape was altered so incisively? Chapter 4 (The formation of collective identity) explores the transformation of collective identity in the . The state of the people: Citizens, civil society and governance in South Africa, 1994-2000. www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za The state of the people: Citizens, civil society and governance in South Africa, 1994-2000