9513918 Koelble Democratic practices are widely believed to alleviate ethnic, racial, religious and class conflicts better than other systems of governance. Nowhere is this proposition more clearly articulated than in South Africa. Yet, most extant theories of democratization and its relationship to ethnic and other conflicts focus on very narrow criteria such as "free and fair elections" or certain kinds of institutional structures to define what democracy is and when its implementation can be deemed to be successful. But can we really speak of democracy when fundamental reforms to address long-standing social and economic grievances are not undertaken? When inter-ethnic or police violence increases? When democratic principles are not heeded at the local level? This study argues that narrow conceptions of democracy fail to capture specific local circumstances which impinge upon the implementation of democratic principles. Only if theorists pay attention to the "embeddedness" of constitutional arrangements in a set of local political interactions, the historical dynamics of ethnic and other conflicts, distinct cultural practices and symbols, social norms and behaviors, international and local economic conditions, only then will a comprehensive account of democratic successes and failures emerge. This investigation has tow objectives: first, it examines constitution-making in South Africa by providing a detailed analysis of the current constitutional committee's deliberations. Second, the study deals with the question of how "post-apartheid" local. regional and national government functions. The analysis investigates how constitutional commitments to democracy, social and economic justice are implemented. It maintains that ethnic and racial conflicts are confrontations over the distribution of resources, patronage opportunities and power in the political economy. New institutional structures will provide incentives for new ethnic and racial coalition-building, but will not er adicate the possibility of mobilizing ethnic and racial groups on the basis of perceived discrimination. Levels of ethnic and racial confrontation vary widely across South Africa despite a uniform constitutional system. The intriguing question is: how do we account for such variations in the efficacy of similar institutions to deal with ethnic conflict? The study argues that democratization proceeds along differentiated paths dependent upon its agents and agencies in interaction with their opponents. While the constitution imposes uniform decision-making parameters, the interpretations of local political actors are likely to shape these institutions providing them with a great deal of local flair. The methods of inquiry are standard social scientific approaches. Eight city councils (four urban and four rural towns), four regional governments and the constitutional committee will be monitored over the next four years to discover their mechanisms of decision-making. This is done through interviewing political actors ate each level, observing the participants, and collecting accounts of events from as wide a variety of sources as possible. A policy analysis of the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Program concerning zoning, housing, land use, expropriation, and access to basic amenities provides additional data to measure the impact of the new constitution on the local and regional level. The study will substantially enhance our understanding of this topic. ***
