The South African government, co-optive power and ideological hegemony

Abstract

In South Africa’s new democracy two trends are becoming apparent: political centralisation and the weakening of agents of political accountability. The article argues, first, that these trends are the result of the South African government’s use of two forms of co-optive power, namely institutional centralisation and dispositional centralisation. Secondly, contending that these trends are merely the fruits of deeper roots, the article seeks to identify these roots by “digging deeper”. Primary documents emanating from South Africa’s ruling party, the ANC, have been studied to understandthese trends. It is concluded that the current centralisation results from a deliberate striving towards ideological hegemony.