Self-help Governance and State Dysfunction: Exploratory Perspectives on the South African State and Civil Society

ABSTRACT

This article explores the phenomenon of self-help governance initiatives that manifest in the context of state dysfunction in South Africa. It is argued that the inability of dysfunctional states to render adequate public goods and services prompts civil society to respond in protests. Such protest may be violent and destructive, or assume a constructive ‘do-it-yourself’ character. The latter forms the focus of the article and is explored through means of a case study at local government level. It is concluded that self-help governance is one of a range of civil society responses to state dysfunction, and the phenomenon is conceptualised and integrated into an analytic framework to facilitate further scholarly investigation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The term ‘self-governance’ is employed consistently in this manner throughout this article. It does not refer to the politicized notion that is related to self-determination.

2. Max Weber defined the state as possessing an administration, of which the different parts are coordinated, it is a compulsory association which claims binding authority over all that occurs and exists within its demarcated territory, being able to do so through possessing a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.

3. An organisation to which the rate-payer associations involved in municipal disputes are affiliated.

4. The commonalities between the five cases mentioned above are established in the report by Powell, May, and De Visser (2010, 5–10). Readers are encouraged to consult the document for additional background context that, due to space constraints, this article must omit.

5. See Rademan v Moqhaka Municipality & others (173/11) [2011] ZASCA 244 (1 December 2011).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation.