Framing the race in south Africa : the political origins of South Africa's "racial census" elections / Karen E. Ferree.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ferree, Karen E., author.

Series:

Cambridge studies in comparative politics.

Cambridge studies in comparative politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Elections--South Africa.

Elections.

Voting--South Africa.

Voting.

Political campaigns--South Africa.

Political campaigns.

Political parties--South Africa.

Political parties.

South Africa--Race relations--Political aspects.

South Africa.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 291 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Post-apartheid South African elections have borne an unmistakable racial imprint: Africans vote for one set of parties, whites support a different set of parties, and, with few exceptions, there is no crossover voting between groups. These voting tendencies have solidified the dominance of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) over South African politics and turned South African elections into 'racial censuses'. This book explores the political sources of these outcomes. It argues that although the beginnings of these patterns lie in South Africa's past, in the effects apartheid had on voters' beliefs about race and destiny and the reputations parties forged during this period, the endurance of the census reflects the ruling party's ability to use the powers of office to prevent the opposition from evolving away from its apartheid-era party label. By keeping key opposition parties 'white', the ANC has rendered them powerless, solidifying its hold on power in spite of an increasingly restive and dissatisfied electorate.

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Voters

3. The 1994 campaigns

4. The 1999 campaigns

5. The 2004 campaigns

6. Can a leopard change its spots? Candidate demographics and party label change

7. Why so slow? The political challenges of candidate transformation for opposition parties

8. Negative framing strategies and African opposition parties

9. Conclusion: South Africa in comparative perspective.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-511-85184-7

1-107-21733-4

1-282-91858-3

9786612918582

0-511-91823-2

0-511-91725-2

0-511-91544-6

0-511-91921-2

0-511-77935-6

0-511-91365-6

OCLC:

689996463