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The importance of voice and participation
A community that wants to improve air quality-or protect trees-may or may not
find a channel to express its interests.33
Individuals in the community could form an association and negotiate with
polluters. Or they could lean on government to do this-in other words, voice
and participation are important. A society in which the majority has no voice
can lose out big in two ways. First, it can lose because the potential
creativity and productivity resting in the majority of the people is ignored or
valued only in part. Second, because beneficiaries to communal and natural
assets are not heard, the potential of these assets may be wasted, too.
Institutions such as the law necessarily involve coercive powers, and one of
the potential benefits of broad-based voice-an inclusive democracy-is that it
better commits these powers to serving society at large. Box 3.8
relates the remarkable and very promising transformation in South Africa toward
a more inclusive society.
Box 3.8
Fostering inclusiveness: South Africa's new democracy
One of the more remarkable examples of institutional transformation toward an
inclusive society is South Africa's transition from a system of white rule to a
pluralist democracy founded on the principles of human rights and
reconciliation. When national elections were held in 1994, black South
Africans, comprising three-quarters of country's population, were able to vote
for the first time. In addition, they were able to exercise long-denied rights
to travel freely and to live and work where they please. This transformation
has required uprooting the entrenched institutional foundations of apartheid
and creating a host of new and more inclusive institutions-from the 1996
Constitution to reformed security agencies, provincial governments, and health
and education ministries. How did South Africa manage this transition?
From violence to negotiations
Under apartheid, legally sanctioned discrimination backed by violence permeated
every aspect of society, as blacks were denied the most basic liberties and
were the victims of widespread human rights abuses. In 1961 Nelson Mandela and
the African National Congress (ANC) abandoned their strategy of nonviolent
protest and resorted to armed struggle. Mass demonstrations and violence
continued throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The transition to a new path in
South Africa began with a series of conversations, initiated by Nelson Mandela
from his prison cell, involving the ANC and National Party leaders in the
mid-1980s. At the same time, work stoppages and uprisings in overcrowded urban
slums were exacting a toll on the country and prompting the flight of skilled
workers. Western nations that had long supported the apartheid regime became
more vocal in their criticism, and eventually tightened economic sanctions.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Cold War logic of support for
the staunchly anti-communist regime was also abandoned.
Leadership and a commitment to reconciliation
These developments alone could not ensure a successful transition from
apartheid to a new set of institutional rules. The process depended on the
vision and skills of political leaders. Mandela went to great lengths to
reassure his supporters that he would not act without the consent of the rest
of the ANC. This earned him the trust and respect of his followers, a resource
he drew on when it came time to reach difficult compromises with the National
Party. Leadership was also demonstrated by President de Klerk, whose decision
in 1990 to free Mandela and lift the ban on major black political organizations
involved great risk.
Mandela and other ANC leaders were adept at combining tough negotiation with a
strong public commitment to national reconciliation. This allayed the worst
fears of National Party leaders and facilitated compromise. The mechanisms of
reconciliation included broadly participatory negotiations over the new
constitution, and a government of national unity that gave former rivals the
experience of governing side by side. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission,
established in 1995 under Archbishop Desmond Tutu, provided a high-profile
confidence-building mechanism for addressing past atrocities while restraining
fears and pressures for retribution. And the new constitution devolved
significant powers to the provinces, which further allayed white concerns over
majority rule at the national level.
The transition to democratic rule
These and other measures facilitated the transition to democratic rule while
preventing capital flight and preserving valuable social assets such as the
skills and expertise of the mostly white civil service. A commitment to human
rights and reconciliation provided the winning formula that ensured the success
of the transition despite efforts to derail the process.
South Africa's transformation to an inclusive society is an example to the
world-but not because it was timely, smooth, or bloodless; it was none of
those. But South Africa underwent the most difficult of institutional
transformations in the most trying of circumstances, and did so while fostering
a political culture that emphasizes human rights and reconciliation. Many
challenges of governance and development remain, and aspirations will continue
to create tremendous pressures for change-a positive force but also a challenge
to institutions and leaders.
Source: Sparks (1996);
personal communication with World Bank staff.
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But even very basic protective measures, such as shielding families and savings
from abuse and theft, often fail to materialize. Poor people have to accept
very costly outlets for their savings, as when they buy gold, are hurt by
inflation, or must pay others for safekeeping.34
And the police and courts, responsible for enforcing the law, often fail to
assist or adequately protect poor or disenfranchised groups. Indeed, many
institutional development initiatives are geared to making police and judges
more attentive to the needs of the poor and disenfranchised.35
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