Suchergebnisse

Strains on democratic governance in many parts of Africa have led to a resurgence of traditional authority. In South Africa, democratisation has been accompanied by moves to guarantee a role in governance development for traditional leaders, especially at the local level. Most often associated with the administration of rural areas and small towns, traditional authorities are only occasionally part of metropolitan governance. An exception (and the subject of this paper) is KwaZulu-Natal, where ubukhosi, the institution of chieftaincy, constitutes a political faultline running across the province. Straddling this faultline are the 15 amakhosi or chiefs who fall within the newly demarcated boundaries of eThekwini Municipality, which governs the metropolitan area of Greater Durban. On the basis of historical research and interviews with traditional leaders and city councillors working in traditional authority areas, the paper considers areas of tension and cooperation and the challenges for democratic consolidation and opportunities for development posed by the accommodation of traditional authorities in metropolitan governance. (InWent/DÜI)

Politics and Community-Based Research: Perspectives from Yeoville Studio, Johannesburg offers a substantive and compelling analysis for a diverse readership interested in urban politics, community mapping and the built environment. The book draws on a critical reflection of Yeoville Studio, a research project conducted by Wits University academics from a diversity of disciplinary backgrounds, together with community partners and postgraduate students. A collection of vignettes portraying people and places in Yeoville interwoven with theoretically analytical chapters, it explores the politics of community research at a neighbourhood scale in its multiple facets, and will resonate with similar contested and complex neighbourhoods across the world. The mix of analysis, vignettes, photographs, architectural design and graphics builds the discussion in engaging, rich and integrated ways, to capture the many participatory approaches taken to this city-community studio.