State-led agrarian reform in South Africa: policy incoherencies and the concern for authoritarian populism

In response to slow and ineffective agrarian reform in South Africa, an integrated and inclusive rural economy is proposed through the active engagement of a capable and developmental state. This noble-sounding official ambition raises concerns of potential authoritarian populism. Through a review of recent agrarian polices and strategies in the dimensions of policy development, management and intergovernmental relations, we find that the concept of policy-driven institutional incoherence in the local provision of public goods frames the growing evidence of corruption, elite capture and exclusion better. Two cases from within local government illustrate further how unclarity or incoherencies in the rules-in-use are driven by ill-defined mandates, overlapping jurisdictions, incomplete implementation or contradictions between policies.