In the transition from apartheid rule to democratic governance in South Africa, what has been the impact on South African society at its base—on the people in the country's cities, towns, villages, and farms? Louis Picard and Thomas Mogale offer answers to this fundamental question, tracing historical trends and measuring change (or the lack of it) in the dynamic between the promise of local participatory governance and the realities of a hierarchical state. 

CONTENTS: Political Development in South Africa.Patterns of Local Governance: Africa's Colonial Legacy.The Colonial Origins of Local Control in South Africa.Authoritarian Institutions and Governance: The British Come to the Cape.From Colonialism to Apartheid: State Structures at the Base.The Urban Local State in Apartheid Era.The Local State vs. Local Governance After Apartheid.Where’s the Money? The Fiscal Debate.The Special Challenges of Rural Local Governance.The Continuing Role of Traditional Authorities.The Dilemmas of Decentralized Governance.