Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

Controversies on the fairness of the May election show that democracy may be under pressure here. Unstated agreements which have kept it going here for thirty years are unravelling now that more is at stake in elections. This suggests that much of the tolerance which has made democracy possible here could be under pressure. The message to democrats is that far more needs to be done to win support for democracy here    

This is the view of my weekly Against the Tide  column sent to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, visit the Against the Tide  website. To discuss a free or reduced subscription, contact us at info@againstthetide.co.za.

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.