Review
 Richard Calland (ed) (1999) The First Five Years: a review of
                       South Africa's democratic parliament. Cape
                       Town: Idasa.
 Lubna Nadvi
 South Africa's landmark transition from an oppressive apartheid regime to
 a democracy has been one of the major historical events of the twentieth
 century. No less of an accomplishment has been the establishment of a new
 democratic parliament in the country, whose performance in its first five
years has drawn both sharp criticism as well as moderate praise. It is also
the subject of this new volume edited by Idasa's Richard Calland.
    The diverse and complex nature of South African politics renders it a
fascinating case study of fledgling democracies around the world. This
book attempts both a political as well as somewhat introspective analysis
of the process of democratic consolidation in South Africa, through an
examination of parliament's performance over the last five years. Despite
some shortcomings it provides a concise but well-detailed explication of
parliamentary developments in the period 1994-99. It covers some of the
most topical issues concerning parliament, and in many instances does so
within the context of well-established political theory. This ultimately
provides a useful theoretical backdrop against which to understand, for
example, the degree to which the South African legislature differs from, or
is similar to, other traditional models of parliaments. One chapter in which
this is clearly illustrated focusses on the National Council of Provinces and
explains succinctly how and why the existence of the NCOP makes this
parliament different from the traditional Westminster system. The volume
is thus a useful source of information on features unique to the South
African parliamentary system.
   Much of the analysis and explanation of the workings of parliament is
located within a theoretical and practical understanding of South Africa's
particular socio-economic conditions. The book discusses briefly the
TRANSFORMATION 40 (1999) ISSN 0258-7696


                                                                       Review
historical and political framework of South Africa's past, within which the
transformation of parliament had to take place, as well as the specific issues
which needed to take precedence in the process of such a transformation.
Some of these issues were legislative measures on, inter alia, land reform,
housing, social security, health care, and water. It also examines the
various mechanisms and structures initiated by the new parliament, as well
as those that were modified and given greater powers, such as the
parliamentary committees. These latter were tasked with ensuring that
legislative proposals, were interrogated in a far more substantial manner
than in the previous apartheid parliamentary regime.
    The assessment of these various parliamentary structures, their successes
and failures, and why these are significant within the context of South
Africa's current political climate, are useful as insights into the complexity
of the country's current politics. The book does not, however, go much
beyond acknowledging the ostensible limitations of conducting an analysis
within the conceptual model of liberal Western democracy, one not
necessarily compatible with an Africanist understanding of governance
and social existence. The analysis does not therefore succeed to any
significant degree in capturing an inclusive understanding of traditional
African approaches to politics, for instance the role of traditional leaders
and elders. Instead, it has opted to pursue a largely liberal democratic
perspective.
    The late Nigerian political economist Claude Ake once argued in his
paper 'Rethinking African Democracy' that one can speak of an African
democracy, which is intrinsically premised on communal values, and that
it should not have to suffer the indignity of being dictated to by notions of
Western liberalism and capitalist tendencies. What has seemingly become
a flaw of both the way the South African parliament has evolved, as well
as some of the analyses that have emerged of this process, is that there is
far too much of an infusion of a Western liberal conceptualisation of
democracy, which ultimately does not consciously seek to address the
material concerns of most South African citizens.
    Particularly interesting and commendable features of the book, however,
are its chapters on women in parliament, the assessment of the performance
of different political parties as well as individual MPs, and the issue of
ethics. These serve also to point to areas where certain shortcomings exist
in South Africa's political and parliamentary system, and which need
seriously to be addressed. Reference is also made to individuals who have
                                      133


Lubna Nadvi
played significant roles in (i) the transformation process, (ii) landmark
political, legislative and social events over the last five years, and (iii)
scandals, which have reflected negatively on this parliament.
   This is as detailed and insightful a review of the South African parliament
as is yet available, and there is little faulting its well laid-out presentations,
tables, diagrams and other features, which make it an accessible, carefully
written text. It is ultimately a must for anyone interested in South African
politics.
                                         134