Liberation movements as governments : understanding the ANC's quality of government

• Main Author: October, Lauren Sue
• Other Authors: De Jager, Nicola
• Format: Others
• Language: en_ZA
• Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2015
• Subjects: National liberation movements > South Africa; South Africa > Politics and government > 1994-; African National Congress; UCTD
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96657

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. === ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Liberation struggles and the way liberation movements are organised can leave a lasting impact on post-liberation societies. This research project was conducted in order to research liberation movements as governments and how the quality of governance is affected in post-liberation societies when liberation movements become governments. The South African liberation movement is seen as having contributed to one of the most peaceful transitions of power on the African continent. However, the stigma surrounding liberation movements prompted a study of the South African liberation movement and to establish whether or not the ANC as ruling party has made a success of its governance of South Africa. This thesis uses South Africa as a case study to determine how quality of governance is affected when liberation movements become governments. This thesis focused on the lingering effects of the structure and organisation of liberation movements. It is thus an exploratory as well as descriptive study where the legacies of the South African liberation movement are investigated and where the ANC as a liberation movement is compared to the ANC as a ruling party. Using historical analysis to discover the structure and internal governance of the liberation movement, this thesis seeks to explain the legacies that still influence the ANC today after its transition from a liberation movement into a political party. To do this the thesis used the theoretical framework of quality of government taken from Rothstein and Teorell (2008), who define it as impartiality. These legacies of the South African liberation movement are believed to have had an impact on the quality of governance of the ANC as a ruling party in post-liberation South Africa. By researching the last twenty years of ANC rule in South Africa’s post-liberation society, this thesis investigated the impartiality of government institutions in order to evaluate the quality of governance in South Africa, and thereby to discover what happens to the quality of governance when liberation movements become governments. The findings of this thesis indicate three conclusions. First, the legacies of the South African liberation movement still have a great influence on the modus operandi, the structure and the goals of the ANC today. Second, these legacies have contributed to the decline of the impartiality of government institutions, in particular through the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) project and its cadre deployment strategy, where appointments are made without the consideration of the principle of impartiality. The legacies of the South African liberation movement have thus had a negative impact on the quality of the ANC’s governance. Finally, this thesis has found that in the case of South Africa, when the ANC as liberation movement took over as the ruling party in a post-liberation society, it negatively affected the quality of governance. Further research in this field is needed in order to compare these findings with other countries that have liberation histories so as to be able to generalise about other liberation movements and to improve the quality of governance in other countries. === AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Bevrydingstryde en die manier waarop bevrydingsbewegings georganiseer is kan 'n blywende impak op post-bevryding samelewings laat. Hierdie studie is uitgevoer om bevrydingsbewegings as regerings na te vors en ondersoek in te stel oor hoe die kwaliteit van staatsbestuur beïnvloed word in post-bevryding samelewings wanneer bevrydingsbewegings regerings word. Die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging het bygedra tot een van die mees vreedsame oorgange van mag op die Afrika-kontinent. Die stigma rondom bevrydingsbewegings het egter gelei tot die implementering van 'n studie oor die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging en of die ANC as regerende party wel 'n sukses van sy staatsbestuur van Suid-Afrika gemaak het. Hierdie tesis gebruik Suid-Afrika as 'n gevallestudie om te bepaal hoe die kwaliteit van bestuur beïnvloed word wanneer bevrydingsbewegings regerings word. Hierdie tesis is gefokus op die voortslepende gevolge van die struktuur en organisasie van bevrydingsbewegings. Dit is dus 'n verkennende asook beskrywende studie waar die nalatenskappe van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging ondersoek word en waar die ANC as 'n bevrydingsbeweging staan in vergelyking met die ANC as 'n regerende party. Die gebruik van historiese ontleding om die struktuur en interne bestuur van die bevrydingsbeweging te ontdek, is in hierdie tesis gebruik om die nalatenskappe, wat vandag nog ’n invloed het op die ANC selfs ná sy oorgang van 'n bevrydingsbeweging na 'n politieke party, te verduidelik. Om dit te kan doen het die tesis gebruik gemaak van Rothstein en Teorell (2008) se teoretiese raamwerk van die gehalte van bestuur wat gedefineer word as onpartydigheid. Hierdie nalatenskappe van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging het kwansuis 'n impak op die gehalte van die staatsbestuur van die ANC as 'n regerende party in 'n post-bevryding Suid-Afrika gehad. Deur navorsing te doen oor die laaste twintig jaar van die ANC-regering in Suid-Afrika se post-bevryding gemeenskap, ondersoek hierdie tesis die onpartydigheid van staatsinstellings om sodoende die gehalte van regering in Suid-Afrika te evalueer, en om daardeur te ontdek wat word van die kwaliteit van staatsbestuur wanneer bevrydingsbewegings regerings word. Die bevindings van hierdie studie dui aan op drie gevolgtrekkings. Eerstens, die nalatenskappe van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging het vandag nog 'n groot invloed op die modus operandi, die struktuur en die doelwitte van die ANC. Tweedens, hierdie nalatenskappe het bygedra tot die agteruitgang van die onpartydigheid van staatsinstellings, in die besonder as gevolg van die Nasionale Demokratiese Revolusie (NDR) projek en sy kaderontplooiing strategie waar aanstellings gemaak is sonder om die beginsel van onpartydigheid in ag te neem. Die nalatenskappe van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevrydingsbeweging het dus 'n negatiewe impak op die gehalte van die ANC se staatsbestuur. Laastens het hierdie tesis bevind dat in die geval van Suid-Afrika, toe die ANC as bevrydingsbeweging oorgeneem het as die regerende party in 'n post-bevryding samelewing, die gehalte van bestuur negatiewelik geaffekteer is. Verdere navorsing in hierdie gebied word benodig om hierdie bevindinge met ander lande wat ’n soortgelyke geskiedenis deel te vergelyk en om sodoende te veralgemeen oor ander bevrydingsbewegings en gevolglik die kwaliteit van bestuur in ander lande te verbeter.