TY - CHAP
T1 - Political Opportunism
T2 - Populism as a New Political Tactic in South Africa
AU - Nkrumah, Bright
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - In post-apartheid South Africa, one of the right-wing populist parties of the continent thrives: the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Its right-wing posture may be tied to its rhetoric which often speaks to the “common people”, opposition to established institutions and display of anti-elitist sentiments. The EFF's ambition, as captured in its policy proposals, seeks to represent the interest of the majority black Africans against an elite, understood as both top officials of the African National Congress (ANC) and white capitalists. Substantively, the party highlights expropriation of land without compensation, justice over reconciliation, and has strategically aligned itself with wider social protests and nationwide strikes. For this reason, some observers have expressed concern that the party's political tactics pose a serious threat to the country's liberal democracy. To this end, the central questions of this contribution are straightforward: is populism a new phenomenon in contemporary South Africa, and why are South African voters hypnotised by populist appeals?.
AB - In post-apartheid South Africa, one of the right-wing populist parties of the continent thrives: the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Its right-wing posture may be tied to its rhetoric which often speaks to the “common people”, opposition to established institutions and display of anti-elitist sentiments. The EFF's ambition, as captured in its policy proposals, seeks to represent the interest of the majority black Africans against an elite, understood as both top officials of the African National Congress (ANC) and white capitalists. Substantively, the party highlights expropriation of land without compensation, justice over reconciliation, and has strategically aligned itself with wider social protests and nationwide strikes. For this reason, some observers have expressed concern that the party's political tactics pose a serious threat to the country's liberal democracy. To this end, the central questions of this contribution are straightforward: is populism a new phenomenon in contemporary South Africa, and why are South African voters hypnotised by populist appeals?.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130011123&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1163/9789004445079_007
DO - 10.1163/9789004445079_007
M3 - Chapter
AN - SCOPUS:85130011123
T3 - Annals of the International Institute of Sociology
SP - 117
EP - 140
BT - Annals of the International Institute of Sociology
A2 - Etieyibo, Edwin
A2 - Katsaura, Obvious
A2 - Musemwa, Mucha
PB - Brill Academic Publishers
ER -