Power in Action: Democracy, Citizenship and Social Justice
Publish date: 18 February 2019
Issue Number: 811
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: General
Power in Action: Democracy, Citizenship and Social Justice
By Steven Friedman
Wits University Press. R400
What are democracies meant to do? And how does one know when one is a democratic state? These incisive questions and more by leading political scientist, Steven Friedman, underlie this robust enquiry into what democracy means for SA post 1994. Democracy is often viewed through a lens reflecting Western understanding. New democracies are compared to idealised notions by which the system is said to operate in the global North. The democracies of Western Europe and North America are understood to be the finished product and all others are assessed by how far they have progressed towards approximating this model. Power in Action persuasively argues against this stereotype. Friedman asserts that democracies can only work when every adult has an equal say in the public decisions that affect them. Democracy is achieved not by adopting idealised models derived from other societies – rather, it is the product of collective action by citizens who claim the right to be heard not only through public protest action, but also through the conscious exercise of influence on public and private power holders.
