Mutual Accommodation and Clientelist Politics in South African School Education

The research identifies a fragmented system of unstable governance in South African school education, where local unionists, district officials, and community members collude to secure preferential access to 'promotional' posts and school budgets, reflecting broader state-society relations in the country.

• A form of clientelist politics has emerged in the post-apartheid school education system, specifically centered on 'promotional' posts. This system is locally organized and lacks a centralized state or party organizational core.
• Preferential access to school posts is secured by locally organized unionists through various means, including collusion with district education officials, community members seeking access to limited school budgets, or the use and threat of violence.
• The education sectors in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape exhibit a fragmented and interlocking system of unstable governance. This is driven by 'mutual accommodation' between the livelihood strategies of impoverished residents, the upward mobility goals of teachers, and the accumulation strategies of senior administrators, union leaders, and politicians.

APA

Meny-Gibert, S. (2023). Mutual Accommodation and Clientelist Politics in South African School Education. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/journal-article-mutual-accommodation-clientelist-politics-in-south-african-school-education/

Chicago

Meny-Gibert, Sarah. Mutual Accommodation and Clientelist Politics in South African School Education. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2023. https://pari.org.za/journal-article-mutual-accommodation-clientelist-politics-in-south-african-school-education/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Meny-Gibert |first1=Sarah |title=Mutual Accommodation and Clientelist Politics in South African School Education |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=9 October 2023 |url=https://pari.org.za/journal-article-mutual-accommodation-clientelist-politics-in-south-african-school-education/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{menygibert2023mutual, author = {Meny-Gibert, Sarah}, title = {{Mutual Accommodation and Clientelist Politics in South African School Education}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://pari.org.za/journal-article-mutual-accommodation-clientelist-politics-in-south-african-school-education/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }