Against the tide by Steven Friedman

Despite two MK Party wins in by-elections, the coalition government is in no danger of losing its majority to parties who reject the constitution. The coalition's fate - and the constitution's - depends, rather, on what happens within the ANC over the next couple of years. Here, as in many other countries, the threat to democracy comes less from those who oppose it and more from those who claim to support it.  

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Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.