Bridging new democracies

Abstract

This thesis contributes to the debate on the viability of civil society in Africa, and its potential to consolidate the continent’s emerging democracies. It explores democratic participation among the African citizenry within a social trust framework, comparing the experiences of South Africa and Botswana. Using Afrobarometer data from the 2003 survey set, this project disaggregates patterns of social trust into two specific forms, namely generalized and particularized trust. These values are then measured against various dimensions of national political participation, including voting, contacting parliamentarians, protesting, and other forms of activity. The research findings establish that the presence of high levels of particularized trust within divided societies discourages participation in national political activity at the individual level, while generalized trust in cohesive societies induces participation in national political life. Ultimately, the findings suggest that the dynamics of social cohesion in Africa must be taken into account when forecasting the future of democracy on the continent.