Stellenbosch University’s (SU) department of political sciences recently launched a research organisation which will have a greater focus on South African democracy than its historic predecessor organisation.
This is according to Ursula van Beek, director of the Centre for Research on Democracy (CREDO), who added via email correspondence with MatieMedia that the centre already has multiple projects underway.
Through CREDO, its researchers hope to expand on the legacy of its predecessor organisation, the Transformation Research Unit (TRU), but with “a greater focus on South Africa and with a much wider mandate to correspond with the activities of other centres studying democracy around the globe”, said Van Beek
The TRU, “has years of impactful democracy research under its belt, along with a tight-knit global team of researchers”, Damien du Preez, marketing manager at CREDO, told MatieMedia via email correspondence.
The department of political science at Stellenbosch University forms a part of the faculty of arts and social sciences. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
The shoes to be filled
“CREDO’s roots stretch back to the early 1990s with a study examining the breakdown of autocratic regimes and their transition to democracy in South Africa and Poland,” stated Van Beek.
This comparison of South Africa and Poland was groundbreaking, as it proved that “countries differing vastly in culture and the types of autocratic regimes they had left behind could be usefully compared”, explained Van Beek. “Breaking up the regional confines opened a novel research perspective in the comparative study of democracy.”
This “embryonic” project brought together political scientists, sociologists, historians, philosophers and economists from South Africa and Poland, stated Van Beek. After “some years of knocking on many a donor’s doors”, in 2000, these researchers involved colleagues from Germany, South Korea, Chile and Turkey to establish the Transformation Research Initiative, which “continued the comparative study of democracy”, she said.
“[Another] important milestone in the life of [their] informal network of scholars” came in 2015, when the groups’ research was institutionalised at SU as the TRU, stated Van Beek.
“The network of researchers that is associated with [the Centre for Research on Democracy] have published on the issue of democracy and democratic theory for a number of years and this will be to the benefit of the new centre,” stated Anthony Leysens, dean of the faculty of arts and social sciences, wherein the centre was recently established. PHOTO: Bianke Neethling
The next steps
Now, “CREDO has been established in recognition of its predecessors’ longitudinal research on democracy that has gained global recognition”, explained Van Beek.
“The faculty and university are excited about the establishment of CREDO,” said Prof Anthony Leysens, dean of the faculty of arts and social sciences at SU. “With the establishment of CREDO, the faculty of arts and social sciences confirms its commitment to focusing on the contemporary challenges of the times we live in.”
One new project undertaken by CREDO is the establishment of a regular webinar series, two of which have already taken place, said Van Beek. The first, held on 21 February, commemorated Social Justice Day. The second webinar on 24 March was focused on “the global impact on democracy of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia”, stated Van Beek.
CREDO also recently partnered with the South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI), to offer four master of arts scholarships to master’s students, two of which will be awarded to students within SARChI, according to Van Beek. “Given the overlap in the study of the problems of gender and other inequalities, and human rights more generally, the establishment of a partnership was seen as mutually beneficial.”
The centre’s first research project was also recently completed, wherein the researchers looked at “social and political polarisation in South Africa and several other countries around the world”, said Van Beek.
The Centre for Research on Democracy’s (CREDO) first webinar was held on 21 February to commemorate Social Justice Day. It was organised in conjunction with CREDO’s partnering Bahçesehir University in Turkey, according to Ursula van Beek, director of CREDO. The main speakers at the event included SA’s former Public Protector and a representative of the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, stated Van Beek. PHOTO: Supplied/Damien du Preez