Description
Book SynopsisIn this book, Francis expands and redefines the approach to the problematic of a comprehensive framework for the study of political elites through an interrogation of political elite formation in the African context of the Provincial Legislature of KwaZulu-Natal. The result is an empirically rich and detailed study of the realization, accumulation and exercise of institutionalized political power. Political elite agency shapes, enables and undermines political institutions and is dependent on a multiplicity of currencies including social and political capital and patterns of culture, respect and institutional capacity. Studies of political elites must now consider not whether elite values, attitudes and patterns of political etiquette penetrate political institutions, but rather how they do so.
Table of ContentsContents List of graphs and tables ix Acknowledgements x Glossary and abbreviations xi INTRODUCTION 1 1 A THEORY AND METHODOLOGY FOR THE STUDY OF ELITES 10 The context of KwaZulu-Natal – methodological problems 18 Methodology of the study 22 2 HISTORICAL CONTEXTS AND POLITICAL ELITE FORMATION IN KWAZULU AND NATAL 32 Defining political ideas and political spaces 33 The roots of political elite formation 34 Political elite formation during ‘the struggle’ 41 Contested elite formation during the transition 57 Key factors and contexts in elite formation prior to 1994 71 3 SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EMERGING POLITICAL ELITE 73 Social characteristics among the political elite 75 Social clusters of the political elite 131 Conclusion 133 4 POLITICAL, ORGANISATIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND OF AN EMERGING POLITICAL ELITE 135 Initial political involvement 138 Extent of former political involvement: Veterans and newcomers 144 Types of former political involvement 147 Patterns of party political identification 161 Conclusion 173 5 INTRA-PARTY DYNAMICS AND POLITICAL ELITE CIRCULATION 175 The structure of opportunities within the provincial legislature 177 Intra-party dynamics in the IFP and ANC 179 Recruitment and circulation 184 Volatility in political elite circulation 196 Conclusion 200 6 INTER-PARTY DYNAMICS, COALITION POLITICS AND CROSS PARTY ELITE BONDING 202 The first term: Strengthening institutionalizing rules and procedures 203 The 1999 IFP-ANC coalition: Institutionalizing certainty 210 The IFP-DA alliance: Syncretic relationships 236 Conclusion 247 7 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY 249 Institutional factors that define the institutional capacity of political elites 251 The provincial legislature and the committee system 255 Case study: The National Council of Provinces Standing Committee in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature 264 Streams of political elites: Policy, politics and institutional capacity 274 Conclusion 283 CONCLUSION: THE POLITICAL ELITE OF KWAZULU-NATAL 285 Theoretical development 295 References 297 Index 313
