The African National Congress (ANC) organization at the grassroots

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6024002
AutoresVincent Darracq (Aurum Institute, autor correspondente), Darracq
Ano2008
Volume107
Fascículo429
Páginas589-609
Data de publicação2008-08-18
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAfrican Affairs (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0001-9909 • E-ISSN: 1468-2621
EditoraOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/afraf/adn059
OpenAlexW2129824578
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas16

This article provides a study of the African National Congress (ANC) local organization at party branch level. It focuses on the branches’ community activities, on their participation in party structures, and on the ANC political culture. It takes an organizational perspective on the study of political parties and refers to the mass party model. The ANC has a strong tradition of mass organization, and the ANC formal organization conforms to the mass party ideal-type: branches are meant to be active agents on the ground, while the party leadership is supposed to implement the membership's decisions. The ANC has developed a certain type of mass political culture, of popular politics. The article also shows how bottom-up decision-making processes concretely provide a certain level of influence to the members over the selection of leadership and the party's policies (even if through intermediary brokers). This article is a contribution to the renewed academic debates on African political parties and takes the stand that organizational and empirical approaches should be a priority.

Grassroots · Perspective (graphical) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · International Development and Aid · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Public Administration · South African History and Culture