A public choice perspective on apartheid and the post-apartheid political economy (original) (raw)

This study applies a public choice perspective to analyze the historical injustices of apartheid and propose a framework for understanding post-apartheid South Africa. It argues that apartheid stemmed from the self-interested behavior of political agents and emphasizes the need for protecting individual rights over group rights to alleviate state coercion. Utilizing tools from public choice theory, specifically constitutional political economy and interest-group theory, the analysis critiques key political documents like the Freedom Charter and ANC draft constitution, ultimately advocating for decentralization and a power-sharing federal structure to prevent the concentration of governmental power.