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Abstract
The question of power remains critically important. South Africa provides a salient example of the relevance of soft or co-optive power. This paper investigates the South African government's use of two forms of co-optive power, namely, institutional centralisation and dispositional centralisation. The first refers to the centralising of the state apparatus as evidenced in the reformed Presidency. The second is highlighted in state-society relations as civil society is relegated to the role of implementer of state policy and its political space as an agent of accountability is severely constrained.
Notes
1. Not all within the ANC are in agreement regarding this understanding of civil society. An ANC MP, Ben Turok, at an IDASA workshop in Citation2003, is quoted as saying: ‘Civil society is needed because it acts as a check on power. One thing we must never have is an ANC one-party state, and a vibrant civil society will help to prevent this’ (Turok, Citation2003).