South Africa after 20 years of democracy: a case study
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Date
2016
Authors
Labuschagne, Pieter
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The two decades spanning the end of the 20th and the
start of the 21st Century were important phases in the
global process of democratisation. The 1990s were
epitomised by the ground-breaking 1991 publication of
Samuel Huntington’s The Third Wave: Democratization
in the Late Twentieth Century. Huntington’s book
crowned the global success of democracy, with a
growing number of states adopting the principles of
democracy. It seems that the next decade from 2000
to 2010 would be the continuation of the democratic
trend with authoritarian regimes and their leaders
toppling before the “next wave of democratisation”.
This notion was strengthened by a significant number of
countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Libya and Ukraine,
disposing of their leaders and adopting democratic
principles. However, it seems that the transition
from an authoritarian to democratic rule was more
challenging, with the new democracies progressively
showing distinct signs of vulnerability in sustaining
democracy. The challenges to new democracies
seemed to coincide with a wider, more comprehensive
disillusion with democracy in general. The scepticism
towards democracy increased at a juncture when
authoritarian rule seemed to pose a real challenge to
democracies, with the rise of China on the global stage.
The article is concluded with an investigation into the
state of democracy in South Africa in the form of a case
study. The reference in the article to other countries is
for explanatory purposes only.
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Citation
Labuschagne, P. (2016). South Africa After 20 years of democracy: a case study. Acta Academica, 48(2), 108-126.