Institutionalizing Elites: Political Elite Formation and Change in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature

Description

In this book, Francis expands and redefines the approach to the problematic of a comprehensive framework for the study of political elites through an interrogation of political elite formation in the African context of the Provincial Legislature of KwaZulu-Natal. The result is an empirically rich and detailed study of the realization, accumulation and exercise of institutionalized political power. Political elite agency shapes, enables and undermines political institutions and is dependent on a multiplicity of currencies including social and political capital and patterns of culture, respect and institutional capacity. Studies of political elites must now consider not whether elite values, attitudes and patterns of political etiquette penetrate political institutions, but rather how they do so. Institutionalizing Elites Dedication Contents List of graphs and tables Acknowledgements Glossary and abbreviations INTRODUCTION 1 A THEORY AND METHODOLOGY FOR THE STUDY OF ELITES The context of KwaZulu-Natal – methodological problems Methodology of the study 2 HISTORICAL CONTEXTS AND POLITICAL ELITE FORMATION IN KWAZULU AND NATAL Defining political ideas and political spaces The roots of political elite formation Political elite formation during ‘the struggle’ Contested elite formation during the transition Key factors and contexts in elite formation prior to 1994 3 SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EMERGING POLITICAL ELITE Social characteristics among the political elite Social clusters of the political elite Conclusion 4 POLITICAL, ORGANISATIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND OF AN EMERGING POLITICAL ELITE Initial political involvement Extent of former political involvement: Veterans and newcomers Types of former political involvement Patterns of party political identification Conclusion 5 INTRA-PARTY DYNAMICS AND POLITICAL ELITE CIRCULATION The structure of opportunities within the provincial legislature Intra-party dynamics in the IFP and ANC Recruitment and circulation Volatility in political elite circulation Conclusion 6 INTER-PARTY DYNAMICS, COALITION POLITICS AND CROSS PARTY ELITE BONDING The first term: Strengthening institutionalizing rules and procedures The 1999 IFP-ANC coalition: Institutionalizing certainty The IFP-DA alliance: Syncretic relationships Conclusion 7 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY Institutional factors that define the institutional capacity of political elites The provincial legislature and the committee system Case study: The National Council of Provinces Standing Committee in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature Streams of political elites: Policy, politics and institutional capacity Conclusion CONCLUSION: THE POLITICAL ELITE OF KWAZULU-NATAL Theoretical development References Index