Egoism of the national bourgeoisie
Exploring political party formation, ego politics and the challenge of governance in South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16565358 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sbonelo Radebe (0000-0002-5972-675X, University of Cape Town, corresponding author), Sunday Paul C Onwuegbuchulam (0000-0003-3170-8266, University of the Free State) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-15 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-17 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Politikon (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0258-9346 • E-ISSN: 1470-1014 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02589346.2026.2653202 |
| OpenAlex | W7154695670 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
Since South Africa's democratic breakthrough in 1994, there has been significant growth in the number of political parties. In more recent times, there has been an increase in the number of political parties which have mushroomed from existing political parties. These new political parties are formed in most cases by disgruntled members of the existing main political parties in the country. This paper considers this rising phenomenon of balkanisation of political parties in South Africa as problematic and, hence, utilising a qualitative desktop literature review approach, it explores political party formation, ego politics and the challenge of governance in the country. Also, utilising Fanon's ideas on the pitfalls of national consciousness and Hobbes' views on psychological egoism, the paper contends that the proliferous establishment of political parties in South Africa in recent times might indicate that the nation's political landscape often centres around the egos of individual politicians
Corporate governance · Ethical egoism · Good governance · Id, ego and super-ego · Politics · African cultural and philosophical studies · Legal Issues in South Africa · South African History and Culture
| Highly cited | No |
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