Department of Political Studies, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
Butler, A., Department of Political Studies, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
This article first sets out the reasoning of those who fear that the implications of HIV/AIDS for democratic consolidation in South Africa are profoundly negative. However, the remainder of the text argues that the politics of HIV/AIDS has in fact strengthened democratic institutions and practices over the past decade. Given the immediate threats to democratic consolidation that exist in South Africa today - challenges that I will argue derive from internal dominant party politics, the nature of knowledge creation in the African National Congress (ANC), and a shrinking space for policy contestation - the epidemic may contribute further to the endurance of democracy over coming years. I conclude that scholars should address the pandemic's positive, as well as its inevitably negative, consequences for democracy and governance. © 2005 Journal of Contemporary African Studies.