How post-apartheid children express their identity as citizens

Abstract

Children in South Africa are educated to identify with democratic values and democracy in post-apartheid society. As yet, we have no empirical evidence on their views on and identification with the new South African democracy. When given an opportunity to express their life experiences, the nine-year-old child citizens of this case study revealed their democratic identity on various levels. These nine-year-old children expressed a weak identification with democracy on the local level but a strong identification with democracy on the national level. We argue that the weak identification on the local level may influence the children’s identification with democracy negatively. It is the key finding of this study that a lack of democratic identification may endanger the sustainability of the South African democracy into the future.