By popular demand: corruption, public opinion, and policy representation in South Africa

Abstract

South African society has been beleaguered by high-profile political corruption scandals since the early 2000s, bringing questions of accountability, ethical leadership, and the state of democracy into sharp focus. In this chapter, we reflect on the way these contextual developments have informed public opinion. The analysis charts the rapid rise of corruption as a critical issue of concern among South Africans, irrespective of their socio-demographic background. This has been accompanied by a diminishing sense of trust in the government and a deep-rooted scepticism of the government's anti-corruption agenda. The South African public tends to be responsive and attuned to clear policy actions that effectively represent and tackle the issues that it deems to be salient. On this basis, we argue that strong expectations have been placed on the Cyril Ramaphosa administration's 'new dawn' agenda which includes a resolute commitment to promote a developmental, capable, and ethical state. A failure to successfully forge progress in this regard is therefore likely to be met with increasing disaffection and political disillusionment which has the potential to erode the legitimacy of South African democracy and frustrate attempts at further democratic consolidation.