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The signing of the constitution did not guarantee freedom in South Africa
What is democracy and the constitution of South Africa?
•“Democracy takes is contingent upon a country's socio-economic conditions as well as its entrenched state structures and policy practices. democracy is a system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives” (Schmitter & Karl, 1991, pg. 76.). Democracy is a system of government that allows citizens of a country to elect their own representatives.
•“there is no universal and uncontested definition of a constitution. Nevertheless, any broadly accepted working definition of a constitution would likely describe it as a set of fundamental legal-political rules that: are binding on everyone in the state, including ordinary law-making institutions; concern the structure and operation of the institutions of government, political principles, and the rights of citizens; are based on widespread public legitimacy; are harder to change than ordinary laws (e.g. a two-thirds majority vote or a referendum is needed); and as a minimum, meet the internationally recognized criteria for a democratic system in terms of representation and human rights” (Bulmer, 2017, pg.5.).
Here are Youtube video links that explain the concept of democracy and the constitution in an African context:
https://youtu.be/q7LKSns5TiU (Consitution of South Africa).
https://youtu.be/dwFLefMpooc (Democracy)
•“Democracy takes is contingent upon a country's socio-economic conditions as well as its entrenched state structures and policy practices. democracy is a system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives” (Schmitter & Karl, 1991, pg. 76.). Democracy is a system of government that allows citizens of a country to elect their own representatives.
•“there is no universal and uncontested definition of a constitution. Nevertheless, any broadly accepted working definition of a constitution would likely describe it as a set of fundamental legal-political rules that: are binding on everyone in the state, including ordinary law-making institutions; concern the structure and operation of the institutions of government, political principles, and the rights of citizens; are based on widespread public legitimacy; are harder to change than ordinary laws (e.g. a two-thirds majority vote or a referendum is needed); and as a minimum, meet the internationally recognized criteria for a democratic system in terms of representation and human rights” (Bulmer, 2017, pg.5.).
Here are Youtube video links that explain the concept of democracy and the constitution in an African context:
https://youtu.be/q7LKSns5TiU (Consitution of South Africa).
https://youtu.be/dwFLefMpooc (Democracy)
Democracy is just another word used to cover up the injustices that are taking place in South Africa (YouTube URL of a video depicting the injustices taking place in South Africa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71-j lOvrUFc). "[T]he South African apartheid state sought to disaggregate an increasingly integrated urban population from the 1950s to the 1980s. The Verwoerdiandemographic engineering was designed to ethnicize, denationalize and fragment the black majority but to racialize and thereby unify the white minority of different ethnic backgrounds" (Fraser & Moodley, 2000, pg. 2.). Democracy and the signing of the constitution were meant to destroy the injustices of the past caused by the apartheid system such as "The end of apartheid meant the collapse of legislated identities. The vision of an overarching South African ‘rainbow nation’ emerged.
Divisive race or ethnicity was supposed to become an irrelevant factor in the public realm. The peaceful coexistence of different communities, with equal rights for all citizens and common loyalty to a shared state, stood out as a promise. The language of political transformation was one of compromise, emphasizing reconciliation at the expense of justice and retribution. The slogan became one nation, many cultures. The three core concepts of nation-building, nonracialism, and reconciliation were to express the consensual alternative to the previously imposed separation and interracial antagonisms" (Fraser & Moodley, 2000, pg. 2.). when I take a good look at how the constitution of South Africa was meant to change the country, endorse freedom, destroy social injustices and create a country where all races live in harmony. That was not achieved as there is no unity in South Africa, we have high levels of corruption, we have high levels of discrimination, and South Africa has become one of the most dangerous countries for women and children (City-press.News24.com)
Divisive race or ethnicity was supposed to become an irrelevant factor in the public realm. The peaceful coexistence of different communities, with equal rights for all citizens and common loyalty to a shared state, stood out as a promise. The language of political transformation was one of compromise, emphasizing reconciliation at the expense of justice and retribution. The slogan became one nation, many cultures. The three core concepts of nation-building, nonracialism, and reconciliation were to express the consensual alternative to the previously imposed separation and interracial antagonisms" (Fraser & Moodley, 2000, pg. 2.). when I take a good look at how the constitution of South Africa was meant to change the country, endorse freedom, destroy social injustices and create a country where all races live in harmony. That was not achieved as there is no unity in South Africa, we have high levels of corruption, we have high levels of discrimination, and South Africa has become one of the most dangerous countries for women and children (City-press.News24.com)
