The missing youth in the South African political landscape
OUTPUT TYPE: Chapter in Monograph
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2022
TITLE AUTHOR(S): K.Vilakazi, Z.Nene
SOURCE EDITOR(S): P.Kariuki, I.Khambule, L.O.Ofusori, M.Mkhize
KEYWORDS: POLITICS, POST-APARTHEID, YOUTH
DEPARTMENT: Equitable Education and Economies (IED)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 9812364
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/19438
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/19438
If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.
Abstract
Almost three decades into the post-apartheid political landscape in South Africa, the role of the youth in the electoral process is slowly becoming a determining factor. The rise of the youth in the mid-80s made South Africa ungovernable, which subsequently led to the release of political prisoners and the beginning of a negotiated settlement in the early 90s. The youths participation in the political sphere was significantly evident in the past. However, youth participation in the electoral process has steadily declined from that of the 1994 General Election. This chapter aims to identify key reasons for the downward spiral of youth participation in the electoral system. This chapter relies on qualitative data derived from first hand data collected during the 2019 General Election in South Africa. Study participants were between 18 and 25 and had not participated in the electoral system during data collection. The exploratory nature in which the study was designed centered on bringing credence to the role that the youth can play in the electoral system, while extrapolating their perspective of the electoral system in South Africa. This chapter argues that current electoral awareness programs are ineffective and ought to be improved and tailored towards the current youth generation to encourage them to participate in the electoral process of South Africa effectively. Furthermore, an attempt is made to provide examples of improving youth engagement in the electoral process.-
Related Research Outputs:
- Book review: Marks, M. (2001) Young warriors: youth politics, identity and violence in South Africa. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press. 171 p. ISBN 1868143708
- Children's crusades: how the youth have revolutionised South African politics
- The young and the restless: political apathy and the youth
- The presence of the past: youth, memory making and the politics of self-determination in southeastern Nigeria
- Suicidal ideation and associated factors among students aged 13-15 years in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, 2007-2013
- Party disintegrations & re-alignments in post-apartheid South Africa
- The contested state of democracy in South Africa
- Book review: Goetz, A.M., Hassim, S. (eds.) (2003). No shortcuts to power: African women in politics and policy making. Cape Town: Zed Books. 246 p. ISBN 1842771477
- The centre-periphery in knowledge production in the twenty-first century
- Kwazulu-Natal programme for survivors of violence
- Lesotho 2000: public perceptions and perspectives
- Politics, voting and elections
- Adolescents perceptions of the future of South Africa: a 40 year perspective
- Teledemocracy in South Africa
- Book review: Giliomee, H. & Simkins, C. (eds.) (1999) The akward embrace: one-party domination and democracy. Cape Town: Tafelberg. 368 pp
- The African union: the same old animal in new clothing?
- Africa in the contemporary world
- Sources of aggressive behaviour in children. A brief outline with pointers for intervention
- The individual in the group in the social, political, and economic context: implications for South Africa
- The national liberation struggle in South Africa: a case study of the United Democratic Front, 1893-1987