Framing the democratic narrative: local and national voting patterns in South Africa

While it is sometimes characterised as a dominant party, South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) has failed to demonstrate consistent dominance in provincial and municipal elections. It is argued that this incongruence is related to the ways in which the national political imaginary is s...

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Published inCommonwealth & comparative politics Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 56 - 75
Main Authors Holmes, Carolyn E., Shoup, Brian D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 01.02.2013
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Africa
African National Congress
Apartheid
Cities
Dominance
dominant parties
Elections
Elites
Frame analysis
International political economy
issue framing
Legislative Bodies
Legislatures
Local elections
Narratives
Nationalist movements
Personality
Political Parties
Post-apartheid era
Ruling parties
South Africa
symbolic versus policy framing
Votes
Voting
South Africa
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Summary:While it is sometimes characterised as a dominant party, South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) has failed to demonstrate consistent dominance in provincial and municipal elections. It is argued that this incongruence is related to the ways in which the national political imaginary is successfully (and unsuccessfully) framed by ANC elites who have managed to make the story of the ANC largely inseparable from the national character of the post-apartheid state. At the local and municipal levels, The ability of the ANC to frame this inseparability is hobbled by more policy-oriented frames as well as the institutional character of South Africa's constituent-legislator relationships.
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ISSN:1466-2043
1743-9094
DOI:10.1080/14662043.2013.752177