The face of power in South Africa is rapidly changing – for better and for worse. The years since Thabo Mbeki was swept aside by Jacob Zuma’s ‘coalition of the wounded’ have been especially tumultuous, with the rise and fall of populist politicians such as Julius Malema, the terrible events at Marikana, and the embarrassing Guptagate scandal.
What lies behind these developments? How does the Zuma presidency exercise its power? Who makes our foreign policy? What goes on in cabinet meetings? What is the state of play in the Alliance – is the SACP really more powerful than before? And, as the landscape shifts, what are the opposition’s prospects?
In The Zuma Years, Richard Calland attempts to answer these questions, and more, by holding up a mirror to...
Richard Calland is one of South Africa’s most incisive political analysts. He led IDASA’s political and economic governance programmes for over a decade, is a founder member of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC), and is an associate professor in public law. He is the co-founding partner of The Paternoster Group: African Political Insight, and is a long-time retained advisor to Massmart. A regular commentator in the press and on TV and radio, his column ‘Contretemps’ has appeared in the Mail & Guardian since 2001. His earlier publications include Thabo Mbeki’s World, Anatomy of South Africa, The Vuvuzela Revolution and The Zuma Years.
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