Contemplating civil society

South Africa research update

Tags: Southern Africa, Civil Society Building
Additional tags: Civil society building South Africa

On 29 and 30 July, a delegation of the knowledge team from HIVOS and ISS visited South Africa. The purpose of the visit was to attend a stocktaking workshop of the ongoing research projects in the region and to prepare for a civil society conference, scheduled for November this year.
The visit took place amidst a wave of strikes and (violent) protest in several townships of Johannesburg and Cape town, allegedly caused by public dissatisfaction about public service delivery and stalling wage negotiations in the civil service. The new Zuma government, elected on a ticket of pro-poor policy seems to be rowing against the current of the worldwide economic crisis amidst charges and cases of corruption of public officials that continue to further erode public trust.

The ongoing debate around slow socio-economic progress and enduring perverse inequalities in South Africa also calls into question the role of civil society. Once hailed as the key driving force against apartheid, civil society in South Africa is struggling to reinvent and re-equip itself in order to maintain its relevance in society.

Against this backdrop, four research projects are exploring how citizens mobilize to claim their rights. What patterns of interaction exists between grass roots level dynamics and civil society actors and what does this tell us about the process of civil society building and indeed, the societal impact of civil society? Early findings from the Forced Migration Studies Programme for example, suggest that migrant communities rely more on informal networks and family relations than on the NGOs that claim to act and serve on their behalf. Frank Jenkins argues that civil society misses opportunities to influence policy by failing to interact strategically with parliamentary processes. The Freedom of Expression Institute and the Centre for Sociological Research highlight how little yet is known about community dynamics that give rise to public protest and increasingly repressive responses by the state. Jackie Dugard from the Centre for Applied Legal Studies reflects on the Piri water case. What does it take for a community and its supporting organizations to take the state to court? To which extent can ‘society be forged through law’? The research projects offer potentially interesting lenses to contemplate the role of civil society in Post Apartheid South Africa. The findings will be discussed at a November conference, to be held in Johannesburg. Click here for more information about the projects.