FIELD OF RESEARCH/RESEARCH INTERESTS

Political and voter behaviour, elections and party systems, democratisation, legislative studies, public opinion analysis and quantitative (survey) research methods, especially in South Africa and the sub-Saharan region.

ABOUT

Prof. Collette Schulz-Herzenberg holds a BA Hons in Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (London University), and an M.Sc in Democratic Governance, and a PhD in Politics from the University of Cape Town (UCT). She since completed her postdoctoral fellowship with the Centre for Social Science Research at UCT in 2013, specialising in South African voter behaviour. Collette has a growing track record in academic publications and an extensive published record in policy-based research including two edited volumes on the 2014 and the 2019 South African elections, both published by Jacana Media. Collette is a National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher (level C3) and was awarded a three-year duration NRF Grant in December 2018 to implement a South African nationally representative post election study following the 2019 elections.

She has 15 years of work experience in the academic and policy-based research arena, previously working as a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, and with the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa), specializing in issues of democracy and governance, corruption and public sector ethics, social justice and human rights, taxation, and citizenship. Collette also consults as a governance specialist for a variety of research-based and non-profit organisations in the region, and an elections specialist for South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) during elections.

Collette’s academic interests include Political and voter behaviour, elections and party systems, democratisation, legislative studies, public opinion analysis and quantitative (survey) research methods, especially in South Africa and the sub-Saharan region. Her teaching specialisations include Political Behaviour and Political Theory, survey research and quantitative methodologies.

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS:

Collette is part of a global group of scholars that implement the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP) post-election public opinion surveys in over 30 democracies. Collette also collaborates with various scholars in the Southern African region to implement and analyse national public opinion surveys in countries like Kenya and South Africa.

Collette is also part of a project on elections, entitled ‘Crooked Politics: Vote Markets and Redistribution in New Democracies’ with the Department of Business and Politics, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.

Collette is also extensively involved in the South African National Election Study project (SANES, with other national and international colleagues, which includes a study of voter attitudes since 1994.

Collette also has strong collaborative networks with Afrobarometer, which now surveys 37 African countries.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS INCLUDE:

Articles peer-reviewed journals:

Schulz-Herzenberg, C., 2019. ‘The new electoral power brokers: macro and micro level effects of ‘born-free’ South Africans on voter turnout’. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics. Accepted for publication in on 16 May 2019. DOI: 10.1080/14662043.2019.1621537

Schulz-Herzenberg, C., 2019. ‘To Vote or Not? Testing Micro-Level Theories of Voter Turnout in South Africa’s 2014 General Elections’. Politikon, Vol. 46 (2). https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2019.1595879

Justesen, M. J. and Schulz-Herzenberg, C., 2018. ‘The Decline of the African National Congress in South Africa’s 2016 Municipal Elections’. Journal of Southern African Studies, 44 (6), pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2018.1539376

Schulz-Herzenberg, C., 2016. ‘Shifting Electoral Trends, Participation, and Party Support’. Journal of Public Administration, 51 (3.1), pp. 487-512.

Gouws, A. and Schulz-Herzenberg, C., 2016. ‘What’s Trust Got to do with it? Measuring Levels of Political Trust in South Africa 20 Years after Democratic Transition’. Politikon, 43 (1), pp. 7-29.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C., 2014. ‘The Influence of the Social Context on South African Voters’. Journal of Southern African Studies, 40 (4), pp. 839-859.

Habib, A and Schulz-Herzenberg, C., 2011. ‘Democratization and Parliamentary Opposition in Contemporary South Africa: The 2009 National and Provincial Elections in Perspective’. Politikon, 38 (2), pp. 191-210.

Books (edited volumes):

Schulz-Herzenberg, C and Southall, R. (eds), Election 2019: Change and stability in South Africa’s democracy. Jacana Media, Forthcoming 2019.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C & Southall, R. (eds), Election 2014 South Africa: The campaigns, results and future prospects, Jacana Media & Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2014.

Chapters in books

Schulz-Herzenberg, C. and Gouws, A. 2017. Does political trust lead to reconciliation? In Lefko-Everett, K., Govender, R., and Foster, D. eds. Rethinking Reconciliation: Evidence from South Africa, Human Sciences Research Council, pp. 201-227.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C. 2016. The South African Electoral Commission: Twenty Years of Democracy. In Election Management Bodies in Southern Africa: Comparative study of the electoral commissions’ contribution to electoral processes. Published by Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa & SADC Electoral Commissioners Forum. African Minds, pp. 259-288.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C. 2014. Trends in electoral participation, 1994-2014. In Schulz-Herzenberg, C. and Southall, R. eds., Election 2014 South Africa: The campaigns, results and future prospects, Jacana Media, pp. 20-41.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C. 2014. The 2014 national and provincial results. In Schulz-Herzenberg, C. and Southall, R. eds., Election 2014 South Africa: The campaigns, results and future prospects, Jacana Media, pp. 188-227.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C and Southall, R. 2014. The party system and political prospects in the wake of election 2014. In Schulz-Herzenberg, C & Southall, R. eds., Election 2014 South Africa: The campaigns, results and future prospects, Jacana Media, pp. 228-240.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C. Participation and party support in the 2011 municipal elections. In S Booysen (ed), Local elections in South Africa: parties, people politics, Sun Press/ Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 2012, pp. 91-114.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C. Managing public opinion during the 2009 South African elections. In H Thuynsma (ed), Public Opinion and Interest Group Politics: South Africa’s Missing Links? Africa Institute of South Africa, 2012, pp. 135-153.

Schulz-Herzenberg, C 2009. Trends in party support and voter behaviour, 1994-2009. In R Southall and J Daniel (eds), Zunami! The 2009 South African elections, Jacana and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, pp. 23-46.