Zunami! The 2009 South African Elections

摘要

This edited collection contains a detailed analysis of the most eagerly anticipated South African elections since 1994. The political context in which these elections took place was characterised by the turbulent rise to power of Jacob Zuma amidst a backdrop of increasing social instability in recent years. Added to this was the emergence of a new party, Cope, which emerged out of the ANC itself as a by-product of the bitter internal divides within the party. In the end, 2009 did not mark the political watershed predicted by some commentators, but nor did the size of the ANC's victory simply reflect 'business as usual' for South African politics. A detailed examination of the election results reveals that the final outcome was not as predictable as one might expect.