Law Commons^™

Political scientists have identified compelling correlations between economic development and democratic stability. In general, the wealthier and more developed a country, the greater its chances of maintaining a long-term, stable democracy. This Article evaluates whether South Africa’s post-apartheid economic conditions are trending towards conditions that generally correlate to stable democracies. It compares South Africa’s post-apartheid economic conditions to the empirical trends that development theorists have identified as correlative to democratic stability. This analysis is important because if South Africa’s post-apartheid economic conditions do not exhibit positive trends, this may suggest that despite the just end of apartheid, conditions are becoming …