The politics of coordination in the Western Cape: the case of national, provincial and local government (2010–2018)
Coordination and strategic alignment within the state have long been buzzwords in South Africa’s policy community since the dawn of democracy. SA has a complex intergovernmental system involving constitutionally independent spheres – a scheme that the African National Congress (ANC) initially resisted -- but accepted in 1994. Coordination in the interest of the impoverished majority has continued to fail for many reasons despite many attempted remedies. Academic research lacks a comprehensive exploration of how managers navigate power dynamics across different geographical scales and how these strategies are implemented and challenged through formal and informal means. In other words, managers may need to deal with power dynamics within their immediate teams or organisations and at broader regional, national, or global geographical levels. The thesis focuses on the politics of multi-level coordination in the Western Cape (WC). In this relative success story, the Democratic Alliance (DA) governs the province and the City of Cape Town (CoCT). The case study explores contradictions by documenting and analysing the perceptions, experiences, and understandings of various actors about the identity and priorities of the state and the hidden nature of the managerial politics of policy implementation and coordination in the WC.
Coordination, Provincialisation, Collaborative coordination, Managers
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