Comparative Politics Essay POLS 3024

Introduction

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the South African society has changed dramatically, with
the rapid growth of the middle class as well as the rising of unemployment. This paper will
offer a comparative analysis of the variations between Botswana and South Africa and their
impacts on political representation, stability, and legitimacy. Again, it will address these
variations by looking at how different each state has functioned under these variations.
African countries inherited economies that are backward, skewed and underdeveloped as a
result of Western colonial rule. Since independence, African states have embarked on the
transformation of inherited economic structures with varying degrees of success.

Political Representation

Women in Botswana are poorly represented in decision-making bodies such as parliament

and cabinet where national socio-economic decisions are made and national priorities set.
The underrepresentation of women, who make 52% of the national population, in political
positions has far reaching implications. The equal participation of men and women in
decision-making is a necessary course for social, political and economic development.
Inclusive and participatory development is desirable for both developing and developed
countries. As a democratic nation, Botswanas elective bodies should be seen to represent the
nations diverse perspectives and interests. Furthermore, the country must offer equal
economic opportunities to all citizens. Women in Botswana form the majority of the
countrys population, women in Botswana vote more than men but still remain
underrepresented while in South Africa women are represented as their representation in
decision-making bodies is proportional and women are less patronized as they are equally
seen as rational actors in relation to men in the political realm. However, it has been observed
that as a mature democracy, Botswana trails behind a number of newly-democratising
countries in the region on the measure of gender equality. Both the government and the ruling
BDP have declined to set the target for achieving at least 30 per cent women representation in
the partys leadership positions, parliamentary and council representation. Overall, the

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electoral representation in Botswana has been free and fair, attracting the sustained
participation of both the political parties and the electorate. The marginalization of ethnic
minorities is a major issue in Botswana. Democratic South Africans enjoys political representation
among the overwhelming majority of their representatives such as political leaders. Only a small,
insignificant political right of the white population still dream of their own state and their relevance
has gradually diminished over the last decade. Due to the historical experience with the apartheid
system, the constitution acknowledges the countrys apartheid past and therefore prohibits any
form of discrimination. Although discrimination still occurs on various levels and within a
variety of sectors, it is no longer condoned by the state. Thus political representation is
Botswana is flawed because the dominant Tswana group supports the government and that constitutes
as a detriment to representation and this can only be viewed as another form of subordination to the
minorities and again, democratic principles are not adhered to because Botswana gets more support
from ethnic group. However, bad representation also affirms to bad governance and lack of
democracy in because the needs of minority ethnic groups are not met. Evidence also suggests that
since independence, the government has portrayed various forms of inequality among the
minority people of its country, with specific relation to the San (also known as Bushmen) (Good,
1997).

Democracy in Botswana had therefore, come to be identified not with ideological notions
or party competition, but with the Botswana Democratic Party. Suffrage, gained
without struggle, did not come to be highly valued and never did Botswana witness those
impressive long snaking lines of South Africans waiting in the hot sun to cast their
first vote. This paradox of peace has resulted in majority of the population maintaining
an apathetic attitude towards the government in terms of social, economic, political
and environmental issues. Where there is single dominant party, with little prospect of
change of government through elections, as in Botswana, the absence of internal party
democracy can become more important than the existence of democracy between
parties and cohesion and efficiency can become justification for executive control.

Political Stability
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Botswana is a politically stable country holding elections every five years. The government
of Botswana adheres to democratic principles in spite of its remarkable economic
performance, and several social welfare initiatives, Botswana still suffers from widespread
poverty, resulting mainly from the weak economic base in rural areas, lack of sufficient
human capabilities, unequal access to resources, socio-cultural problems as well as a high
unemployment rate. While unemployment, inequality, poverty, as well poor governance in
South Africa has impacted upon social stability in complex ways. Consequently, living in
conditions of poverty has significantly exacerbated ones risk of engaging in violence due to
increased exposure to violent subcultures. Furthermore, members of politically excluded
groups are more likely to mobilise after a change in their position of power (Cederman,
2004). For example the xenophobic attacks or incidents in South Africa undermine the social
stability and social cohesion of the state thus South Africa is generally viewed to be the most
unstable state in Southern Africa where extreme displays of consumerism and wealth
disparities co-exist with widespread poverty. South Africa has a number of important
institutions (post-apartheid) such as its independent court, the public protector and a free
media. Under President Zuma, the integrity and effectiveness of these institutions has been
subject to unprecedented levels of political interference, particularly in the choice of unsuited
and inadequate leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) policy of cadre deployment.

As a result, corruption and patronage have compromised the strength of many institutions and
resulted in declining international confidence in the countrys potential. While politics and the
economy impact social stability, it plays a key role in drawing away foreign and domestic
investment, thus disenfranchising and polarising the voting public, in turn reducing social
cohesion and paving the way for more populist policies and isolation from the international
community. Social instability in South Africa thus affects economic growth, while societies
vulnerability impacts to social instability(41) because all violence in South Africa is social,
political aspirations and motivation are what makes violence political or public for example
violent protests against local government and political assignations and xenophobic attacks.
One of the premises for this variation in terms of both states is the fact that both states went
through transitions from colonialism to independence. Again is the fact that cases of such
variation is evident because of the major problem of leadership, therefore South Africa is still
haunted by historical injustices and oppressive structures that were imparted to the post-
colonial leadership(Tutu,2004). In addition, Botswana suffered less colonial intrusion than
South Africa, which European nations ruled more bureaucratically as colonies. Thus there are

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variations between Botswana and South Africa because economically Botswana has
performed very well since 1996 as compared to South Africa, maintaining one of the highest
economic growths in the world (61). The dominance of single ethnic group in Botswana, has
somehow helped to facilitate political dominance, for example the diversity of one ethnic
group within the state has proved to eliminate the threat of ethnic battles for power (140),
such as the conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda. Indeed, Botswana can be
economically stable but it could also be socially instable at the same because the absence of
ethnic conflict does not necessarily indicate that Botswana is socially stable or less prone that
South Africas ethnic violence.

The major variation is that South Africa is diverse in terms of its ethnic groups while
Botswana only has one dominant ethnic group, this clearly depicts the Tswana ethnic group
as marginalizing existing minorities to the point that minorities have little chance of
impacting the Tswanas dominance in the political sphere(143). In terms of economic stability
this variation is advocated by the fact that, the economy of Botswana is supported by a strong
productive sector, whereas in South Africa, the economy is supported by an
unsustainable high consumption of products and services.

Political Legitimacy

Botswana, of course, is typically cited as one of the most democratic countries in Africa,
with a history of peace and stability and democratic elections since independence in
1966. Economically, there is considerable variation among southern African countries,
Botswana also achieved independence in the 1960s from Britain and, like its counter-parts,
emerged under conditions that were both optimistic and uncertain. Yet in many ways,
Botswana defies categorization, given its unique position in southern Africa and indeed in
Africa as a whole. In addition, Botswana was colonised as well but it was mild and allowed
for a significant degree of continuity of traditional rule. Touching on one of the main factors
in accounting for Botswanas post-independence history, it has been said that a key force that
distinguishes successful from failed states is the social chemistry of the dominant class
and the discipline of its leadership (Samatar, 1999: 6).

According to this argument, Botswanas status as a politically legitimate state is located

in a professional Weberian-style bureaucracy that has conducted and implemented policy-
making efficiently, made possible by an essential alliance amongst elites. Molutsi

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(1989a: 105) has identified five fractions of the ruling elite in Botswana: elected
representatives; traditional rulers; the higher echelons of the bureaucracy; the business elite;
and leading cattle-ranchers. Much of these actors can be located in two or more of these
ranks. Here, the idea of a post-colonial historic bloc, borrowed from Gramsci but applied to
the African situation by Bayart (1993) is most useful. Bayart argues that the elites holding
power within the African context cannot be reduced to classical Marxism to one class,
namely the bourgeoisie. Nor can the ruling elite simply be passed off as an alliance of
social forces. Representative of this message was the persistent call for Batswana to
exercise responsibility and accept their condition lest the country become destabilised.
Such appeals to national solidarity, combined with the active provision of services,
helped craft and consolidate the legitimacy of the bloc in the eyes of the ruled: satisfying the
criteria that a politically legitimate state must have legitimacy and be able to demonstrate
performance. Some of South Africa s pain has been self-inflicted and demonstrates
massive deficits in governance and legitimacy. The country has long neglected it transition
process and focused rather on achieving international recognition. With regards to both states,
South Africa enjoys legitimacy among the population in comparison to Botswana as there are
no evident threats to the states monopoly. The only variation with Botswana is the fact that
Botswana has a single ethnic group which is dominant and South Africa has several ethnic
groups therefore although discrimination still occurs on various levels and within a
variety of sectors, it is no longer condoned by the state. The country still has deep
racial divisions, which overlay class inequality unlike the case with Botswana. he
combination of diamond dependency, an autocratic presidency, and a dominant party
led by the rich has not only threatened democracy, but has also compromised human
rights, the independence of the courts, and patterns of legitimate development in the
country.

How democratic can Botswana really be, if it has been under the rule of the same
party since independence? Surely, some light needs to be shed on the current status
of the BDP government, its internal affairs, and its interaction with opposition parties and
civil society. Lotshwao (2011,p104) argues that the opposition parties in Botswana are
too weak to unseat the dominant BDP , and this can be attributed to poor leadership,
especially within the main opposition (Botswana National Front). In order to consolidate
democracy or guard it against gradual erosion under BDP dominance and autocracy,
Lotshwao (p105) also argues that there is a need for more internal party democracy and

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political accountability in the BDP to substitute for weak inter party competition. This call
for more accountability comes from the fact that the people of Botswana are not entirely
aware of what goes on between members and their interaction with the community. In order
for a government to be legitimate there needs to be various forms of transparency and
this is not the case in Botswana. For internal party democracy to substitute for weak inter
party competition, BDP factionalism should shift from opportunism to principle and
policy differences (Molomo, 2003, p301).

Conclusion

Arguably one of the most important challenges facing Southern Africa is the nature and
structure of the state, and the inevitable influence this will have on democratisation. The
form of state current in Southern Africa was forged during colonial occupation. The British,
Portuguese, German and Belgian colonial powers used an indirect form of despotism to
govern, which served to favour certain trusted leaders over others, thus entrenching
power hierarchies in rural areas. South Africa and Botswana share a number of variations,
although the two states are distinctly different in terms of political representation, stability
and legitimacy as well as economic performance. The above discussion has clearly illustrated
that both states come from colonial past and their suffrages cannot be compared thus there are
variations which constitute for their relative backgrounds. Economically, Botswana has been
successful in attaining prosperity and has used its resources wisely and has also avoided the
Dutch disease which has had an impact on many Southern African countries.