Analysis reveals that elections do not guarantee peace in South Africa, suggesting a deeper conflict persists.
VANESSA BAROLSKY examines the way in which South Africa's fourth democratic elections, held in April 2009, have been interpreted as if it was the triumphal moment of democratic politics. According to this interpretation, elections are capable of steering the country inevitably towards a state of permanent peace through an ideology-free, mechanical process - a world in which, 'history has ended', a world free from ideology and hence free from the stain of violence.
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Human Sciences Research Council (2026) studied this question.
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