Ivor Chipkin speaks at University of the Free State event on elite competition and public service rationalisation
Ivor Chipkin, Co-Founder and Director of the New South Institute, spoke at an online discussion hosted by the University of the Free State’s Faculty of the Humanities, Department of Political Studies and Governance, on 29 May 2026.
The discussion, titled “South Africa’s Third Transition: Elite Competition and Public Service Rationalisation”, examined the evolving relationship between political elites, governance, and the rationalisation of the public service in democratic South Africa.
Chipkin’s presentation drew on two recent contributions to this debate: “Elite Contestation in South Africa, 2006–2018: The Making and Unmaking of a Power Elite”, co-authored with Jelena Vidojević and published in the Journal of Southern African Studies, and his NSI working paper, “South Africa’s Third Transition: Democracy, Constitutionalism, Rationalisation”.
The presentation considered how political parties have shaped access to senior positions in the state, and what the Public Service Amendment Act may mean for the relationship between elected officials and the administrative machinery of government. It also situated current reforms within a longer period of elite contestation in South Africa, particularly during and after the Zuma period.
The discussion raised questions about whether changes to the legal architecture of the public service can support merit-based recruitment, strengthen constitutional governance, and alter the routes through which elites gain access to state power.
