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3 Rev. Const. Stud. 18 (1996)
Participating in the Design: Constitution-Making in South Africa

handle is hein.journals/revicos3 and id is 20 raw text is: PARTICIPATING IN THE DESIGN: CONSTITUTION-MAKING IN SOUTH AFRICA Heinz Klug Constitution-making has typically been an elite driven process. The nature of this process and its outcome - the fettering of the will of the majority - has led to assertions that constitutionalism is anti-democratic. The author here concedes that these assertions are valid, but argues that the process leading up to the adoption of the interim South African Constitution tended to minimize elite domination and, indeed, was relatively inclu- sive. Professor Klug suggests that the confluence of a variety of forces, both domestic and inter- national, necessitated an open and inclusive process of constitution-making in South Africa. As a result, groups based on shared characteristics, such as ethnicity, gender or class formed and, with varying degrees of success, were able to influence the outcome of constitutional negotiations. Indeed, South Africa's history is such that an elite domi- nated constitution-making process, particularly a process involving the National Party, would be widely perceived as profoundly illegitimate. The stage thus was set for the adoption of a final constitution by an inclusive, democratically elected South African Constitutional Assembly. La ridaction d 'une constitution a toujours dti un processus influenci par 1'dlite. La nature de ce processus et son risultat - le b6illonnement de la voix de la majoritd - a conduit bz affirmer que le constitutionnalisme est anti-dimocratique. L 'auteur reconnait ici la validitd de ces assertions, mais dimontre qu 'en Afrique du Sud, le processus d'adoption de la Constitution provisoire a tendu t minimiser la domination de i 'elite et qu 'il s 'est en fait aviri relativement inclusif Le Pr Klug sugg~re que la confluence de diverses forces, domestiques et internationales, a imposd le caract~re ouvert et inclusive de ce processus en Afrique du Sud. Il s 'ensuit que certains groupes aux caractdristiques communes (ethnicitd, genre ou classe) se sontformis et, avec un succis mitigi, ou pu infldchir le risultat des nigociations constitutionnelles. Compte tenu de I 'histoire sud- africaine, il est 9vident qu 'un processus d 'ilaboration de la constitution domind par 1 'lite, et impliquant de surcroit le National Party, avait de quoi etre largement perqu comme profonddment illdgitime. Tout semble indiquer que le texte ddfinitif sera donc adoptd par une Assemblde constitutionnelle sud-africaine ddmocratiquement dlue et inclusive. I. INTRODUCTION The act of constitution-making lies at the center of the tension between rational design,' which views the act as the supreme case of human societies' School of Law, University of Witwatersrand, Republic of South Africa. Rational design here invokes the logic of enlightenment rationality which asks of the present not how it fits into a wider scheme, or what does it say about tomorrow, or even whether it is the beginning of a new world, but rather what difference does today introduce with respect to yesterday? See M. Foucault, What is Enlightenment? in P. Rabinow, ed., The Foucault Reader (New York: Pantheon Books, 1984) at 33-34. Foucault describes this perspective as part of an attitude of modernity which has 1996 Revue d'itudes constitutionnelles

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