Karabo Mangena is an African democracy essayist and Futures Researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), where she works at the intersection of democracy, governance and systems transformation. She is completing her master’s degree in political science at SU, examining democratic consolidation and regression in South Africa through historical comparative analysis, while advancing future-oriented frameworks for strengthening constitutionalism and accountability.

• “The African regards the universe as one composite whole, an organic entity progressively driving towards greater harmony and unity, whose individual parts exist merely as interdependent aspects of one whole realising their fullest life in the corporate life whose communal contentment is the absolute measure of values.”
  - Fatima Meer, Higher Than Hope: The Biography of Nelson Mandela (1988)

This is not merely a quotation, but a complete democratic philosophy – one that speaks directly to today’s crises from artificial intelligence and climate change to geopolitical instability. It offers a lens through which democracy can be understood not as a Western procedure, but as a living, relational ethic of shared humanity that predates colonialism and remains a powerful democratic inheritance.

What do you see as the most significant threats to democracy today?

The greatest threat is the hollowing out of democratic language. Globally, nations wage wars, apply selective sanctions, and claim the mantle of human rights while violating them. The word “democracy” has been repeated so often without consequence that it has lost its moral force. When words no longer translate into safety, dignity and rights, democracy becomes performance rather than practice.

In South Africa, this failure is concrete. The true measure of a democracy is whether a child feels safe – at school, at home and everywhere in between. The case of Cwecwe, a six-year-old allegedly raped at her school, is not an isolated tragedy but an indictment. A democracy that cannot guarantee a child’s safety has failed at its most fundamental level. At the same time, millions live hand-to-mouth, communities are economically displaced, and exploitation continues under the guise of investment. These realities expose the gap between democratic promise and lived experience.

What happens when trust in democracy erodes, and how can it be rebuilt?

Trust does not erode simply because leaders disappoint, but because disappointment carries no consequence. There are no repercussions for failures that cost lives, nor accountability for corruption that extracts from the most vulnerable. When this cycle repeats, people lose faith not in democracy itself, but in those claiming to practise it.

Rebuilding trust requires restoring accountability as a structural, non-negotiable principle. Citizens must have meaningful recall mechanisms to hold leaders to account, including measurable performance against promises made. Crucially, accountability must be equal. When consequences apply selectively, democracy itself is undermined. As argued in Dr Mosibudi Mangena’s policy work, democracy must move beyond procedural ritual to moral accountability – governance that serves people over power, and justice over profit.

Young people are often described as disengaged from formal politics. How do you interpret this?

Youth withdrawal from formal politics is not apathy, but a rational response to systemic exclusion. Institutions often create parallel youth structures that simulate inclusion while real decision-making power remains elsewhere. Young people are asked to engage in a version of democracy that does not grant them agency.

What is required is a fundamental shift: Leadership must create conditions for younger generations to shape the future. An ageing leadership class that will not live with the consequences of its decisions should not be its sole architect. Democratic systems must open pathways for participation at the point where individuals have the greatest stake in the future. Without this, alienation deepens; with it, democracy becomes genuinely transformative.

How can technology and social media be harnessed to advance democracy?

Taiwan provides a compelling example. Through platforms such as vTaiwan and the g0v movement, citizens, experts and government officials engage in collaborative policymaking using tools like Pol.is, which are designed to build consensus rather than amplify division. By limiting reactive interactions and encouraging constructive input, these platforms reduce polarisation and improve decision-making. A significant proportion of discussions have translated into government action, and such systems have helped counter disinformation.

The lesson is that digital platforms can be intentionally designed to support democratic integrity rather than engagement metrics. While free expression is essential, it must operate within a non-negotiable commitment to human rights. No political framework should use technology to undermine human dignity. Truth must precede interpretation; facts must precede framing.

What gives you hope for the future of democracy?

Afrobarometer data consistently shows that Africans continue to support democracy, even when it fails them. This reflects not naivety, but historical memory – an understanding of what a people-centred system can be.

The philosophy articulated by Fatima Meer offers a framework capable of addressing contemporary challenges. It integrates human governance with ecological responsibility, recognises interdependence in the face of technological change, and rejects the justification of violence for power accumulation.

A growing body of decolonial scholarship on African democratic traditions – from ubuntu to ujamaa to gadaa – is beginning to translate these ideas into policy and practice. This signals not a return to the past, but the advancement of a holistic philosophy of governance that can hold economics, ecology, technology, culture and human dignity within a single frame.

Ultimately, the future of democracy depends on its ability to move beyond fragmentation toward a more integrated and responsive system. If it is to remain meaningful in a rapidly changing world, democracy must evolve in ways that reflect the complexity of the societies it serves.

The question, then, is not whether democracy is in decline, but whether it is ready to transform.

* This article forms part of a series highlighting academic perspectives on democracy. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Stellenbosch University. The University is committed to academic freedom and the open exchange of ideas.