The constitutional democracy is officially two decades in existence in South Africa, but what is the status and quality of this constitutional democracy? When the negotiating parties were engaged in the constitution-making process, all of them had specific individual goals but in the end compromises had to be made in order to design a system that could work for South Africa.

What is the quality of constitutional democracy currently in South Africa? Do the provinces and municipalities live up to expectations and fulfil the constitutional mandate given when the new constitutional system was born? These are some of the important questions to be discussed at the international conference on strengthening constitutional democracy, with a focus on provinces and local government. 

The CFCR recently hosting this conference in co-operation with the SPL at Stellenbosch University, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the European Academy (EURAC), in Bolzano, Italy.