Framing the race in south Africa
Subtitle: the political origins of South Africa's "racial census" elections
By: Karen E. Ferree
Series: Cambridge studies in comparative politics
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 291
ISBN-13: 9780521765091
Subjects: Race relations; Political campaigns; Political aspects; Voting; Political parties; Elections
Description: "This book explores the political sources of racially segmented elections and ANC dominance in South Africa"--

"Post-apartheid South African elections have borne an unmistakable racial imprint: Africans vote for one set of parties, whites support a different set of parties, and with few exceptions, there is no crossover voting between groups. These voting tendencies have solidified the dominance of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) over South African politics and turned South African elections into ,racial censuses..̮This is book explores the political sources of these outcomes. It argues that although the beginnin of these patterns lie in South Africa's past, in the effects apartheid had on voters,̥ beliefs about race and destiny and the reputations parties forged during this period, the endurance of the census reflects the ruling party's ability to use the powers of office to prevent the opposition from evolving away from its apartheid-era party label. By keeping key opposition parties white, the ANC has rendered them powerless, solidifying its hold on power in spite of an increasingly restive and dissatisfied electorate"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-261) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction; 2. Voters; 3. The 1994 campaign; 4. The 1999 campaign; 5. The 2004 campaigns; 6. Can a leopard change its spots? candidate demographics and party label change; 7. Why so slow? the political challenges of candidate transformation; 8. Negative framing strategies and African opposition parties; 9. Conclusion: South Africa in comparative perspective.