Policy processes within the african national congress and the tripartite alliance

Abstract

After its unbanning and before its accession to power, democratic policy determination practices were beginning to establish themselves within the alliance led by the ANC. This article examines the extent to which these procedures have survived the 1994 election and the degree to which they have been replaced by technocratic forms of decision making, taking the debates over macro‐economic policy as a case study. The decline of activist contributions to the ANC's policy agenda is explored against the more general background supplied by social democratic party systems.