Non-state security, state legitimacy and political participation in South Africa

This dissertation explores the political consequences of non-state security provision in the context of South Africa. In the developed and developing world alike, many individuals rely on various forms of non-state security including commercial security companies, voluntary associations, and faith and community-based organizations to meet their security needs. This reliance is especially pronounced in developing countries where the state's capacity to provide security is often weak. Though reliance on non-state security is quite widespread in South Africa (and the developing world more generally), little is known about the political consequences of this reliance. This dissertation therefore seeks to probe the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of non-state security reliance. I begin by testing the effect of non-state security reliance on individuals' perceptions of state legitimacy. Using original survey data collected in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa, I find that individual reliance on non-state security may strengthen or undercut perceptions of state legitimacy, depending on how individuals view the state's normative role in service delivery. Where individuals feel the state should be responsible for the direct, day-to-day production of security, individual reliance on non-state security decreases perceptions of a legitimate state. But where individuals feel that the state should play more of a facilitative role in security provision, individual reliance on non-state security increases perceptions of a legitimate state. I then test the effect of non-state security reliance on political participation using Afrobarometer survey data. I examine five types of political participation including joining, collective action, contacting, protesting and voting. I argue that non-state security reliance should increase most forms of political participation (except protest), but only when the state is viewed as legitimate. I find that those who rely on non-state security and see the state as legitimate, are less likely to vote, but more likely to engage in non-electoral forms of participation such as protest and collective action. These results suggest that non-state security provision is key to shaping individual political attitudes and behavior in South Africa and other sub-Saharan African countries.