The State of South Africa’s Democracy: Insights from the Afrobarometer and South African Reconciliation Barometer Surveys

South Africa commemorated its twenty-sixth year of democracy under a national lockdown. The coronavirus pandemic has facilitated the largest expansion of state power in this century. Governments around the world have suspended economic activities and civil liberties in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. What effect this has had on citizens’ views on democracy?

This webinar presents newly-published research from the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation’s (IJR) Research and Policy programme, namely the Afrobarometer and South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB) surveys. The two nationally representative surveys, conducted in 2018 and 2019 respectively, reveal that South Africans were largely dissatisfied with how democracy was functioning and disengaging from certain channels of political participation well before the introduction of the national lockdown. Why are South Africans frustrated with their democracy and what can be done to restore confidence in democracy? Do high levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment influence public opinion on the state of governance and democracy?

The speakers will present their findings and discuss how the introduction of the national lockdown might affect public opinion on democracy in South Africa. Finally, by examining the trends of public opinion from both Afrobarometer and the SARB surveys, the panellists will assess possible means to restore public confidence in democracy. Participants are encouraged to pose questions before or during the webinar. The webinar will be live-streamed on IJR’s Facebook page.

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