In the past several years, the dominance of the African National Congress (ANC) has strained South Africa’s democracy and tested its institutions. Within that context, the authors of this collection offer a detailed assessment of the health of the country’s political party system.

CONTENTS: Foreword—Holger Dix.Preface—K. Motlanthe.Introduction—H. Thuynsma.Whither the ANC's Dominance? Waning Electoral Dominance, Rising Hegemonic Dominance—N. de Jager and A. Parkin.The Need to Reform the Electoral System in South Africa: A Constitutional Engineering Perspective—A. Venter.Women, the Electoral System, and Political Parties—Y. Sadie.Political Parties and Political Leadership: Sowing Reconciliation or Divisions?—K. Miti.Do Political Parties Still Shift Public Opinion?—M. Harris, S. Fleetwood, and A. Squara.Securing Their Future: Using Election Campaigns to Safeguard the Party System—H. Thuynsma.Political Parties and Their Capacity to Provide Parliamentary Oversight—D.M. Chirwa and P. Ntliziywana.ANC Hegemony: Social and Economic Ramifications for South Africa—R. Naidu and S. Narsiah.The ANC and South Africa's Foreign Policy and Diplomacy—S. Zondi.Moving South Africa Forward ... ?—H. Thuynsma.