Research Interests
Democratic theory and quality of democracy
Participatory democracy
South African political history
Popular protest
Democratic policing
Associate Professor Heidi Brooks
Associate Professor
Qualifications
PhD and MA (Wits University), BA Hons (Leeds University)
Organisational Unit
Wits School of Governance
Biography
Heidi Brooks is an Associate Professor at the Wits School of Governance. She holds PhD and Masters degrees in Political Studies from the University of Witwatersrand, and a BA Honours in Development Studies from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. She holds a C2 rating as an established researcher from the National Research Foundation (NRF). Heidi has a professional background in higher education, research, and project management, with experience in the public, private and NGO sectors. Prior to joining WSG, Heidi was the Senior Researcher in the Humanity Faculty at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection and previously Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in Political and International Studies at Monash South Africa. Heidi’s research interests lie in South African political history, democratic theory, citizen participation, liberation and mass movements, state-civil society relations, popular protest, and intersections of policing and democracy. She has published widely in both local and international journals on South African political history and post-1994 democracy. She is author of the monograph, The African National Congress and Participatory Democracy: From people’s power to public policy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). She is also a co-editor of Youth in South Africa: Agency, (in)visibility and national development (MISTRA, 2021) and of the recently published research volume, Protest in South Africa: Rejection, reassertion, reclamation (MISTRA, 2023).
Work
Protest in South Africa
MISTRA
2023/02/28 | book
Perpetuating invisibility: Organised politics and alternative spaces in post-1994 youth politics
Youth in South Africa: Agency, (in)visibility and national development
2021/11/23 | book-chapter
The international experience of coalition politics: Democracy, party systems and stability
Marriages of Inconvenience: The politics of coalitions in South Africa
2021/07/09 | book-chapter
The African National Congress and Participatory Democracy
Palgrave Macmillan (Springer)
2020/01/05 | book
'This democracy is killing us': Perceptions of rights and democracy in the South African Police Service
Journal of Modern African Studies
2020 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1017/S0022278X20000191
EID: 2-s2.0-85090468053
ISSN: 14697777 0022278X
Decolonising and re-theorising the meaning of democracy: A South African perspective
Sociological Review
2020 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1177/0038026119878097
EID: 2-s2.0-85073967920
ISSN: 1467954X 00380261
Democracy and its Discontents: Protest from a Police Perspective
South African Crime Quarterly
2019/03 | journal-article
Differential interpretations in the discourse of ‘people’s power’:
African Studies
2018/05/21 | journal-article
ISSN: 0002-0184
Differential interpretations in the discourse of ‘people’s power’: Unveiling intellectual heritage and normative democratic thought
African Studies
2018 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2018.1475653
EID: 2-s2.0-85047195386
ISSN: 14692872 00020184
Merging radical and liberal traditions: The constitution committee and the development of democratic thought in the African national congress, 1986–1990
Journal of Southern African Studies
2018 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2018.1403742
EID: 2-s2.0-85034823085
ISSN: 14653893 03057070
Popular Power and Vanguardism: The Democratic Deficit of 1980s ‘Peoples Power’
Politikon
2018 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1080/02589346.2017.1398992
EID: 2-s2.0-85033502322
ISSN: 14701014 02589346
The mass movement and public policy: discourses of participatory democracy in post-1994 South Africa*
Journal of Modern African Studies
2017/02/02 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1017/S0022278X16000793
The Idea of Organisational Renewal in the African National Congress
Remaking the ANC: Party Change in South Africa and the Global South.
2014/11/24 | book-chapter
ISBN: 978-1-4314-2019-3
Personal Information
Heidi Brooks
Prof Heidi Brooks
Associate Professor, Wits School of Governance
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Associate Professor, Wits School of Governance
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
-
Toggle ORCID item details heidi.brooks@wits.ac.za
- Primary
- No
- Verified
- Yes
Keywords
-
Toggle ORCID item details Democratic theory, South African politics, state-civil society relations, democratic policing
-
Toggle ORCID item details youth development
Websites and Profiles
-
Toggle ORCID item details Wits School of Governance
- URL
- https://www.wits.ac.za/wsg/about-us/
-
Toggle ORCID item details MISTRA: Humanity Faculty
- URL
- https://mistra.org.za/our-research/
External Identifiers
-
Toggle ORCID item details 57193199822 Scopus Author ID
- Type
- Scopus Author ID
- URL
- http://www.scopus.com/inward/authorDetails.url?authorID=57193199822&partnerID=MN8TOARS
Activities
Employment 4
Toggle ORCID item details 2023-01-01 to present | Associate Professor (Wits School of Governance) Employment
- Date range
- 2023-01-01 to present
- Role title
- Associate Professor
- Department
- Wits School of Governance
- Organization
- University of the Witwatersrand
- Organization location
- Johannesburg, Gauteng, ZA
- ROR
- https://ror.org/03rp50x72
Toggle ORCID item details 2020-06-01 to 2022-12-31 | Senior Researcher (Humanity Faculty) Employment
- Date range
- 2020-06-01 to 2022-12-31
- Role title
- Senior Researcher
- Department
- Humanity Faculty
- Organization
- Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection
- Organization location
- Johannesburg, ZA
- ROR
- https://ror.org/01scpqc23
Toggle ORCID item details 2019-02-01 to 2020-05-31 | Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader (Politics and International Studies) Employment
- Date range
- 2019-02-01 to 2020-05-31
- Role title
- Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader
- Department
- Politics and International Studies
- Organization
- Monash South Africa
- Organization location
- Roodepoort, Gauteng, ZA
Toggle ORCID item details 2016-01-01 to 2019-01-31 | Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Centre for Social Change) Employment
- Date range
- 2016-01-01 to 2019-01-31
- Role title
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- Department
- Centre for Social Change
- Organization
- University of Johannesburg
- Organization location
- Auckland Park, Gauteng, ZA
- RINGGOLD
- 61799
- URL
- https://www.uj.ac.za/faculties/humanities/csc/Pages/pdrf.aspx
Education and Qualifications 3
Toggle ORCID item details 2010-09-27 to 2015-03-10 | PhD Political Studies (Political Studies) Education
- Date range
- 2010-09-27 to 2015-03-10
- Role title
- PhD Political Studies
- Department
- Political Studies
- Organization
- University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg
- Organization location
- Johannesburg-Braamfontein, Gauteng, ZA
- RINGGOLD
- 37707
Toggle ORCID item details 2005-02-01 to 2006-03-01 | MA Political Studies (Political Studies) Education
- Date range
- 2005-02-01 to 2006-03-01
- Role title
- MA Political Studies
- Department
- Political Studies
- Organization
- University of the Witwatersrand
- Organization location
- Johannesburg-Braamfontein, Gauteng, ZA
- RINGGOLD
- 37707
Toggle ORCID item details 2000-09-23 to 2003-07-23 | BA Honours Development Studies (Politics and International Studies) Education
- Date range
- 2000-09-23 to 2003-07-23
- Role title
- BA Honours Development Studies
- Department
- Politics and International Studies
- Organization
- University of Leeds
- Organization location
- Leeds, West Yorkshire, GB
- RINGGOLD
- 4468
Works 20
Toggle ORCID item details South Africa’s protest architecture: foundations, scaffolding and pillars of collective action Politikon Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2025-04-03
- Journal title
- Politikon
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2025.2586859
- DOI
- 10.1080/02589346.2025.2586859
- ISSN
- 0258-9346
- ISSN
- 1470-1014
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Heidi Brooks
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- author
- Language Code
- en
Toggle ORCID item details Protest Resonances across the Global South: Democratic Deficit, Inequality and Indignity Protest Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2023-11-01
- Journal title
- Protest
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2667372x-bja10046
- DOI
- 10.1163/2667372x-bja10046
- ISSN
- 2667-3711
- ISSN
- 2667-372X
- Short Description
- <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>During the first two decades of the 21st century, protest has emerged as part of a normalised repertoire of political participation employed by citizens world-over. In the Global South, protests have seen both scale and impact, centring on a range of short- and long-term grievances, and making calls for political and economic change. This article conducts a cross-regional comparative analysis of contentious action in the Global South, drawing out some of the thematic and substantive parallels that might help us better understand the drivers of protest since the 2000s. Drawing on a range of protest data, media sources and secondary analysis, it focuses in particular on protest in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Making use of the wealth of existing protest literature, the article moves beyond a national or regional analysis to highlight the ways in which protest drivers and underpinnings in various locations of the South may resonate with the region’s broader wave of post-2000 protest. The article posits that the drivers of protest can be linked to three overarching themes: <jats:italic>democratic deficit and (ine)quality of representation</jats:italic>; <jats:italic>neoliberalism and expanding inequality</jats:italic>; and concerns of <jats:italic>citizenship, dignity and inclusion</jats:italic>. Underpinning these identifiable themes is the prevalence of experiences of popular exclusion. The article also foregrounds calls for ‘dignity’ as central to understanding the demands and drivers of protest. It is hoped that this initial survey will contribute to further attempts to understand contentious action through an increasingly global lens.</jats:p>
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Heidi Brooks
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- author
Toggle ORCID item details Protest in an age of contention: South Africa’s resonances with the Global South and beyond Protest in South Africa: Rejection, reassertion, reclamation Book Chapter
- Publication date
- 2023-02-28
- Journal title
- Protest in South Africa: Rejection, reassertion, reclamation
- Type
- Book Chapter
- URL
- https://mistra.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Table-of-Contents_Protest.pdf
- ISBN
- 978-1-920690-37-3
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Orcid Uri
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4995-5310
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Heidi Brooks
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/
- Contributors Contributor 1 Contributor Orcid Uri
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4995-5310
- Contributors Contributor 1 Credit Name
- Heidi Brooks
- Contributors Contributor 1 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/conceptualization/
Toggle ORCID item details Rejection, reassertion, reclamation: The underpinnings of protest in South Africa Protest in South Africa: Rejection, reassertion, reclamation Book Chapter
- Publication date
- 2023-02-28
- Journal title
- Protest in South Africa: Rejection, reassertion, reclamation
- Type
- Book Chapter
- URL
- https://mistra.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Table-of-Contents_Protest.pdf
- ISBN
- 978-1-920690-37-3
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Orcid Uri
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4995-5310
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Heidi Brooks
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/
- Contributors Contributor 1 Contributor Orcid Uri
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4995-5310
- Contributors Contributor 1 Credit Name
- Heidi Brooks
- Contributors Contributor 1 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/conceptualization/
- Contributors Contributor 2 Credit Name
- Shauna Mottiar
- Contributors Contributor 2 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/conceptualization/
- Contributors Contributor 3 Credit Name
- Shauna Mottiar
- Contributors Contributor 3 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/
- Contributors Contributor 4 Credit Name
- Rekgotsofetse Chikane
- Contributors Contributor 4 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/conceptualization/
- Contributors Contributor 5 Credit Name
- Rekgotsofetse Chikane
- Contributors Contributor 5 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- ZA
Toggle ORCID item details The architecture of protest in South Africa: Contexts and underpinnings Protest in South Africa: Rejection, reassertion, reclamation Book Chapter
- Publication date
- 2023-02-28
- Journal title
- Protest in South Africa: Rejection, reassertion, reclamation
- Type
- Book Chapter
- URL
- https://mistra.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Table-of-Contents_Protest.pdf
- ISBN
- 978-1-920690-37-3
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Orcid Uri
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4995-5310
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Heidi Brooks
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/conceptualization/
- Contributors Contributor 1 Credit Name
- Shauna Mottiar
- Contributors Contributor 1 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/conceptualization/
- Contributors Contributor 2 Credit Name
- Shauna Mottiar
- Contributors Contributor 2 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/
- Contributors Contributor 3 Credit Name
- Rekgotsofetse Chikane
- Contributors Contributor 3 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/conceptualization/
- Contributors Contributor 4 Credit Name
- Rekgotsofetse Chikane
- Contributors Contributor 4 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/
Toggle ORCID item details Perpetuating invisibility: Organised politics and alternative spaces in post-1994 youth politics Youth in South Africa: Agency, (in)visibility and national development Book Chapter
- Publication date
- 2021-11-23
- Journal title
- Youth in South Africa: Agency, (in)visibility and national development
- Type
- Book Chapter
- URL
- https://mistra.org.za/mistra-publications/youth-in-south-africa/
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- ZA
Toggle ORCID item details The international experience of coalition politics: Democracy, party systems and stability Marriages of Inconvenience: The politics of coalitions in South Africa Book Chapter
- Publication date
- 2021-07-09
- Journal title
- Marriages of Inconvenience: The politics of coalitions in South Africa
- Type
- Book Chapter
- URL
- https://mistra.org.za/mistra-publications/marriages-of-inconvenience/
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- ZA
Toggle ORCID item details The African National Congress and Participatory Democracy Palgrave Macmillan (Springer) Book
- Publication date
- 2020-01-05
- Journal title
- Palgrave Macmillan (Springer)
- Type
- Book
- URL
- https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-25744-6
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- CH
Toggle ORCID item details 'This democracy is killing us': Perceptions of rights and democracy in the South African Police Service Journal of Modern African Studies Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2020
- Journal title
- Journal of Modern African Studies
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85090468053&partnerID=MN8TOARS
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0022278X20000191
- EID
- 2-s2.0-85090468053
- ISSN
- 14697777 0022278X
- Citation Citation Type
- bibtex
- Citation Citation Value
- @article{Brooks2020,title = {{'}This democracy is killing us{'}: Perceptions of rights and democracy in the South African Police Service},journal = {Journal of Modern African Studies},year = {2020},volume = {58},number = {2},pages = {165-187},author = {Brooks, H.}}
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Brooks, H.
Toggle ORCID item details Decolonising and re-theorising the meaning of democracy: A South African perspective Sociological Review Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2020
- Journal title
- Sociological Review
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85073967920&partnerID=MN8TOARS
- DOI
- 10.1177/0038026119878097
- EID
- 2-s2.0-85073967920
- ISSN
- 1467954X 00380261
- Citation Citation Type
- bibtex
- Citation Citation Value
- @article{Brooks2020,title = {Decolonising and re-theorising the meaning of democracy: A South African perspective},journal = {Sociological Review},year = {2020},volume = {68},number = {1},pages = {17-32},author = {Brooks, H. and Ngwane, T. and Runciman, C.}}
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Brooks, H.
- Contributors Contributor 1 Credit Name
- Ngwane, T.
- Contributors Contributor 2 Credit Name
- Runciman, C.
Toggle ORCID item details Democracy and its Discontents: Protest from a Police Perspective South African Crime Quarterly Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2019-03
- Journal title
- South African Crime Quarterly
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- https://issafrica.org/research/south-african-crime-quarterly/south-african-crime-quarterly-67
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- ZA
Toggle ORCID item details Differential interpretations in the discourse of ‘people’s power’: African Studies Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2018-05-21
- Journal title
- African Studies
- Type
- Journal Article
- ISSN
- 0002-0184
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- ZA
Toggle ORCID item details Differential interpretations in the discourse of ‘people’s power’: Unveiling intellectual heritage and normative democratic thought African Studies Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2018
- Journal title
- African Studies
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85047195386&partnerID=MN8TOARS
- DOI
- 10.1080/00020184.2018.1475653
- EID
- 2-s2.0-85047195386
- ISSN
- 14692872 00020184
- Citation Citation Type
- bibtex
- Citation Citation Value
- @article{Brooks2018,title = {Differential interpretations in the discourse of ?people?s power?: Unveiling intellectual heritage and normative democratic thought},journal = {African Studies},year = {2018},volume = {77},number = {3},pages = {451-472},author = {Brooks, H.}}
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Brooks, H.
Toggle ORCID item details Merging radical and liberal traditions: The constitution committee and the development of democratic thought in the African national congress, 1986–1990 Journal of Southern African Studies Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2018
- Journal title
- Journal of Southern African Studies
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85034823085&partnerID=MN8TOARS
- DOI
- 10.1080/03057070.2018.1403742
- EID
- 2-s2.0-85034823085
- ISSN
- 14653893 03057070
- Citation Citation Type
- bibtex
- Citation Citation Value
- @article{Brooks2018,title = {Merging radical and liberal traditions: The constitution committee and the development of democratic thought in the African national congress, 1986?1990},journal = {Journal of Southern African Studies},year = {2018},volume = {44},number = {1},pages = {167-184},author = {Brooks, H.}}
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Brooks, H.
Toggle ORCID item details Merging Radical and Liberal Traditions: The Constitution Committee and the Development of Democratic Thought in the African National Congress, 1986–1990 Journal of Southern African Studies Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2017-11-24
- Journal title
- Journal of Southern African Studies
- Type
- Journal Article
- DOI
- 10.1080/03057070.2018.1403742
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- GB
Toggle ORCID item details Popular Power and Vanguardism: The Democratic Deficit of 1980s ‘Peoples Power’ Politikon Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2018
- Journal title
- Politikon
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85033502322&partnerID=MN8TOARS
- DOI
- 10.1080/02589346.2017.1398992
- EID
- 2-s2.0-85033502322
- ISSN
- 14701014 02589346
- Citation Citation Type
- bibtex
- Citation Citation Value
- @article{Brooks2018,title = {Popular Power and Vanguardism: The Democratic Deficit of 1980s ?Peoples Power?},journal = {Politikon},year = {2018},volume = {45},number = {3},pages = {313-334},author = {Brooks, H.}}
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Brooks, H.
Toggle ORCID item details Popular Power and Vanguardism: The Democratic Deficit of 1980s ‘Peoples Power’ Politikon Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2017-11-06
- Journal title
- Politikon
- Type
- Journal Article
- DOI
- 10.1080/02589346.2017.1398992
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- ZA
Toggle ORCID item details The mass movement and public policy: discourses of participatory democracy in post-1994 South Africa* Journal of Modern African Studies Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2017-02-02
- Journal title
- Journal of Modern African Studies
- Type
- Journal Article
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0022278X16000793
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- GB
Toggle ORCID item details The mass movement and public policy: Discourses of participatory democracy in post-1994 South Africa Journal of Modern African Studies Journal Article
- Publication date
- 2017
- Journal title
- Journal of Modern African Studies
- Type
- Journal Article
- URL
- http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85011578554&partnerID=MN8TOARS
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0022278X16000793
- EID
- 2-s2.0-85011578554
- ISSN
- 14697777 0022278X
- Citation Citation Type
- bibtex
- Citation Citation Value
- @article{Brooks2017,title = {The mass movement and public policy: Discourses of participatory democracy in post-1994 South Africa},journal = {Journal of Modern African Studies},year = {2017},volume = {55},number = {1},pages = {105-127},author = {Brooks, H.}}
- Contributors Contributor 0 Credit Name
- Brooks, H.
Toggle ORCID item details The Idea of Organisational Renewal in the African National Congress Remaking the ANC: Party Change in South Africa and the Global South. Book Chapter
- Publication date
- 2014-11-24
- Journal title
- Remaking the ANC: Party Change in South Africa and the Global South.
- Type
- Book Chapter
- ISBN
- 978-1-4314-2019-3
- Language Code
- en
- Country
- ZA
Funding 1
Toggle ORCID item details The African National Congress and the Theory and Practice of Participatory Democracy Leverhulme Trust Award
- Date range
- 2011-06 to 2013-05
- Title
- The African National Congress and the Theory and Practice of Participatory Democracy
- Organization
- Leverhulme Trust
- Organization location
- London, GB
- FUNDREF
- http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000275
- Type
- Award
- Organization Defined Type
- Study Abroad Studentship
- Short Description
- Merit-based award for overseas doctoral study and field work.
- Amount
- 17000
- Contributors Contributor 0 Contributor Attributes Contributor Role
- lead
Peer review 1
Toggle ORCID item details issn:0891-4486 2021 Review
- Completion date
- 2021
- Review type
- review
- Review group
- issn:0891-4486
- Reviewer Role
- reviewer
- Review Identifiers External Id 0 External Id Type
- source-work-id
- Review Identifiers External Id 0 External Id Value
- 24af420f-a985-4f29-bb2d-3e2aff3b0701
- Review Identifiers External Id 0 External Id Normalized
- 24af420f-a985-4f29-bb2d-3e2aff3b0701
- Review Identifiers External Id 0 External Id Relationship
- self
- Review Completion Date
- 2021
- Convening Organization Name
- Springer Nature
- Convening Organization Address City
- New York
- Convening Organization Address Country
- US
- Convening Organization Disambiguated Organization Disambiguated Organization Identifier
- grid.467660.5
- Convening Organization Disambiguated Organization Disambiguation Source
- GRID