Rewriting politics from the ground up: The rise of civic governance in South Africa

Key topics:

• The decline of centralised governance in South Africa boosts civic-based power.
• Civic organisations like AfriForum provide local solutions amid state failure.
• AI and human bonds may empower communities to surpass sluggish bureaucracies.

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By Beverley Schäfer

As centralized institutions falter worldwide, the future of political systems, particularly in South Africa may hinge on devolving power to civic-based organizations—communities bound by shared interests stepping up where states stumble. This isn’t just pragmatism; it’s a rejection of an old system. History shows that erasing identity for a universal framework breeds resistance, not harmony. South Africa, with its fractured politics and vibrant civic movements, proves the point. Ray Dalio, a world-renowned financier, and New York Times bestselling author says in a recent interview that when trust in top-down governance collapses, power flows back to the people who hold it dear.

Dalio warns of an America, polarized since the 1900s, reeling from debt, conflict, and institutional decay. South Africa mirrors this situation – vast inequality and a state too broken to deliver, where over 60% of municipalities are dysfunctional. Domestic Government Debt sits at approximately R6 trillion, equating to 75% of SA’s GDP. It’s a dismal picture while load-shedding cripples, and crime is surging and a realization that the ANC’s “radical economic transformation” policy direction has been a cash grab, and not a rescue. 

If centralized governments are unable to deliver, then the answer may lie in smaller, more agile groups rooted in shared values and local needs. Imagine neighbourhood councils, trade collectives, or digital communities—each representing the interests of their members directly, bypassing the gridlock of national politics. 

South Africa’s civic surge shows why this is entirely possible. Solidarity, AfriForum, and the Solidarity Movement, tied to Afrikaner identity, build schools, fund legal battles, and deliver relief networks. When the KwaZulu-Natal riots took place, it was residents and communities that took charge as the State showed its inability to assist where essential help was needed. It was just a few days ago that these three civic groups met the Trump administration White House officials, pushing against ANC policies like the Expropriation Act and BELA Act, seeking U.S. support for Afrikaans educational institutions, rather than refugee status. 

So how did we get here? 

There has been the notion, that a homogenized cultural identity, largely imposed by centralized powers, globalist ideologies, or dominant empires could unify diverse populations under one framework, erasing traditions, languages, religion, or values for a new, universal order. Empires over time have tested this premise. Way back the Roman Empire, for example, spread Latin on the one hand, but couldn’t kill Gaulish gods or Egyptian rites practices on the other. Rome stayed strong by letting cultures live, rather than attempting to dilute or wipe them out.

Modern globalization- the Davos elites, or Brussels bureaucracy has pushed a culture-lite vision for the past decade. Brexit defied it while Hungary resisted. South Africa attempted to ban mother-tongue teaching in schools and universities, ignited fierce pushback. Forcing a new identity doesn’t bind—it breaks. Anthropologist Ernest Gellner nailed it by saying that “Culture is cohesion’s glue. Dilute it, and legitimacy vanishes.”

Dalio’s solution in incorporating AI into the actions of civics, adds to the increasing influence civic organisations can have as a voice for their members.  His point that technology amplifies human capacity, could empower these organizations to outpace sluggish bureaucracies, offering tailored solutions where national policies fail. Using AI to track farm security or optimize energy with data that you control, builds autonomy for communities forged by shared values and culture. The Constitution (Chapter 7, Schedules 4 and 5) points to local power when the state can’t provide it. The rates revolt movement that swept eThekwini Metro in 2023 is a case in point. Dalio’s harmony hinges on human bonds and ground-up governance, not a forced new order which the old system is desperately hanging onto. He stresses that human connection trumps mechanics, which most politicians tend to forget. In South Africa, with ever-increasing state failure, centralized power’s legitimacy dims. 

Émile Durkheim, in 1893, captured it so well when she said, “The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own. It binds men together, more than laws or rulers ever could.” 

Organizations such as the likes of AfriForum and others, reclaim agency as a distinct, formidable voice for anyone resonating with their message. While not replacing the state completely but compelling it to follow. Civic power will endure, becoming more of a formidable force in South Africa as time passes, replacing the institutions that once governed at the behest of the people. 

Read also:

• Dave Steward (pt. 3) Trump’s executive order on SA – The alarming rise of racial incitement and farm murders
• Patrick McLaughlin: President Ramaphosa is playing dangerous games with global superpowers
• Transforming SA’s energy future: Why we should say goodbye to big power stations

Beverley Schäfer served in Provincial Parliament for 10 years, and is now running her own consultancy. This opinion piece is written in my personal capacity.