Today’s observation explores how Gen Z experiences democracy. Do they believe in democracy? Do they think it is effective?
Continue reading to find out more.
What we learnt:
Of the 23 who answered this question “Do you think that democracy is worth protecting or participating in?” 87% answered yes.
There’s a positive sentiment about democracy in this cohort:
We have excellent policymakers, and we actually have very world class systems, our central banks, our tax revenue system, it’s world class. We underestimate ourselves. We just have very poor service delivery and I think you know it’s a fundamental issue and it can take time, but it can be fixed. I think as citizens we deserve to give ourselves a chance.” Bryan (White, male)
“Democracy is actually such a beautiful concept. If practised well. You know, I really think we should constantly keep it alive. And nobody should jeopardise that in any sense. So I think we should really, really, really, really think we should just keep democracy alive. You know, coz I cannot imagine a life that our grandparents lived and, you know, talking to them about it and how hard it was for them back then. I mean, we are here as a result of that. And I don’t think anyone for generations moving forward would want to put anyone through what our grandparents went through. Yes. So I just genuinely think that yes, it should be kept and maintained quite well.” Lerato (27, Black, female)
But at the same time, there’s a feeling that it has not been working for them:
“I believe it’s a good thing. Although I do feel like equality, we’re still very far from equality that democracy sets out. I feel like we’re still very far from that.” Sunita (22, Mixed race, female)
“What democracy was known for, you know, it has been a great moment for South Africa in terms of providing equality, freedom, access to educational opportunities. But I think right now, there’s no democracy to that extent. I understand I’m a suit like here in Parktown, but the true reality of where the country is, one has to go to a township. I think they’ll see the true reality of democracy.” Naledi (20, Black, male)
“I don’t know, but it’s also hard because against democracy, there also comes a lot of oppression and stuff. So democracy is great, but I don’t know. If only we could have someone that we could trust to kind of make that final call and look out for everyone.” Aviwe (28, Black, male)
“For me to even have feelings, I’d have to know what the true definition of democracy is because on a day to day basis, I’m living an individual life where these conversations about politics are impacting me. Like I’m not seeing anything physically. So democracy is out of mind when I’m applying for a job or when I’m hanging out with my friends or when I’m doing the day to day activities, right? It’s a bigger picture when you are talking about us as a unity and us as South Africa. But is that even there to begin with? So, absolutely no comment about democracy.” Hlengiwe (28, Black, female)
“Yeah, the democracy question was full of contradictions in this group. On paper, if you read it very superficially, don’t listen too deeply, it’s a much simpler story. When you start scratching beneath the surface, there’s clearly a breakdown in trust with democracy globally. We’ve all seen the data and the big quantitative studies that have been done among young people.
And if you ask a young person, “What do you think about democracy?”, they say “Yeah, that’s good. We want that. Our parents taught us to want that. That’s part of our value system as South Africans.” But if you start to say, “Okay, so how’s it working for you?” Well, you very quickly figure out it’s not working for them, right? And that’s as much as they registered to vote.
Well, we are three or four weeks away from elections, and I think there’s only one or two of them who actually decided what party they were going to vote for. So there’s a disconnect between what’s being said and what’s being done. We all say the right things to interviewers when it comes to actually doing things, there seems to be quite a big difference there.” Ronen, Bronwyn or Dion
What does the research/experts say:
Democracy remains popular across the world. However, young people are less likely than their elders to believe in its effectiveness. The Open Society Barometer finds that “young people around the world hold the least faith in democracy of any age group, presenting a grave threat to its future.” Only 57% of 18-35-year-olds think democracy is preferable to any other form of government, compared to 71% of older respondents, suggesting that non-democratic forms of government may be gaining popularity. The same study found that 35% of young people felt a “strong leader” who did not hold elections or consult parliament was “a good way to run a country.” According to Pew Research Center, technocracy (a system, in which experts, not elected officials, make decisions according to what they think is best for the country) has gained support in most countries surveyed since 2017. South Africa went from 53% to 63%.
Mark Malloch Brown, OSF’s president and a former UN deputy secretary general says “People around the world still want to believe in democracy, but generation by generation that faith is fading as doubts grow about its ability to deliver concrete changes to their lives.”
Our findings suggest that young South Africans are more positive about democracy than young people globally. However, there is a growing disenchantment. A measure of how young people feel about democracy in South Africa is how many are registered to vote. 43,9% of all 20-29-year-olds are registered to vote. The Independent Electoral Commission says over 27.79 million South Africans are registered to vote – the highest since the dawn of democracy 30 years ago. Of these, 4.4 million (16%) are 20-29 year olds. These numbers suggest that there are large numbers of youth who believe in democracy enough to register to vote.
What can policymakers do about this?
“There are 14 million unregistered young people in this country. The last election the ANC only got 10 million votes. If those 14 million [June 2023] young people showed up (and voted for one party), they could unseat the ANC,” said political analyst Tessa Dooms.
It’s in the best interests of a democratic nation for its young people to be positive about and to participate in democracy. The voices of young people are an important part of the national agenda of a country. In South Africa, policymakers need to work on reestablishing trust with the youth. They are not seeing enough evidence of the government improving the lives of all South Africans. In fact, 30 years into democracy, just last week, the media reported that there are still children walking long distances to school over rough terrain and on foot and also having to brave overcrowding in classrooms.
Political parties need to have youth ambassadors who speak the language of the youth and who speak to their concerns. Politicians who are chosen based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge, would likely appeal to young people, and South Africans in general. Young people trust science and expect it to solve the world’s challenges, according to a report by 3M’s “2022 State of Science Index”. “Cadre deployment” is not going to impress them, capability will.
Civic participation should be encouraged from a young age, in school already. The idea of democracy could be role played at schools, similar to Model UN in the United States.
67% of those we interviewed indicated that they are open to emigrating however it is important to note that most of them want to eventually come back. They feel a love and loyalty to South Africa and really want to see positive change.
By Flux Trends
The data and quotes mentioned above refer to a project that we are in the midst of, in conjunction with Student Village called “The 30/30/30 Project” whereby we collected insights from 30 South Africans, under the age of 30, 30 years into our new democracy.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Book the From GenZ to Gen Alpha trend briefing, to get access to the latest insights about Gen Alpha.
Contact Bethea Clayton at connected@fluxtrends.co.za or +27764539405 to book this trend briefing for your team or clients.
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Image credit: Mehrab Sium
