We often bitch and moan about the state of our politics. Justifiably so. There are glaring weaknesses in all of our main political parties- from the governing African National Congress to the two biggest opposition parties, Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters.

Many smaller parties emerged in recent years, some doing well during the recent local government elections, but even they come with downsides such as populism and xenophobic sloganeering from their leaders. 

This raises an obvious and very urgent set of questions: what's the alternative to our main political parties? Can we change the political landscape as civil society? Are there alternative pathways to a more just South Africa beyond formal party politics? Can we and should we reduce the power of politicians?

I invited Mandla Isaacs to work through these issues with me. He is a political economist, public policy analyst and a Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 

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