Interest Groups in the Republic of South Africa

The South African interest group structure is in large measure determined by the racial and ethnic divisions within the population. The low degree of overlap ping group membership can be attributed to three, partly coinciding factors: (1) voluntary establishment of associa tions to promote the interests of specific racial or ethnic groups; (2) government measures introducing racial segrega tion into associational life; and (3) the establishment of associations on an ethnic or racial basis as a result of clashes of interest within mixed associations. Despite these factors a number of racially or ethnically mixed associations do exist—for example, some trade unions—mainly as a result of the integrated nature of the economic system. Because most effective forms of formal political and economic power are concentrated in the hands of the white population groups, their organized interest groups are more influential than the respective nonwhite counterparts. There are indica tions, however, that nonwhite interests are increasingly articulated by institutional and nonassociational interest groups using the various communal councils as channels of access to the key points of decision making.