South Africans often are deeply polarised in our perspectives of the present and the past. Our ‘ways of seeing’ are fraught with division, and we fail to understand the complexities when we do not see what lies beneath the surface.

There is no denying that the Jacob Zuma presidency took a significant toll on South Africa, exacerbating tensions and exposing the deep fractures that already exist in our society along the lines of race, class and even ethnicity. The Zuma years were marked by cases of corruption and state capture, unprecedented in their brazenness, and increased social protests – many of which were accompanied by violence – aggressive public discourse, lack of respect for reason and an often disturbing resistance to meaningful engagement.

Importantly, those years also placed enormous pressure on our democratic institutions, many of which still bear the scars, and challenged the sovereignty of the Constitution itself.

As an analyst and governance specialist at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) for twelve years, February has had a unique perch. Turning and turning is a snapshot of her IDASA years and the issues tackled, which included work on the arms deal and its corrosive impact on democratic institutions, IDASA’s party-funding campaign, which February helped lead, as well as work on accountability and transparency.

Combining analytical insight with personal observations and experience, February highlights the complex process of building a strong democratic society, and the difficulties of living in a constitutional democracy marked by soaring levels of inequality. There is a need to reflect on and learn from the country’s democratic journey if citizens are to shape our democracy effectively and to fulfill the promise of the Constitution for all South Africans.

This book was conceptualised as a follow up to Idasa's 2005 book 'Democracy in the Time of Mbeki'. The previous title focused on the first fifteen years of South African democracy looking at the state of individual rights, attempts to secure these rights for citizens as well as how South Africa's young democracy tried to balance the guarantee of individual rights, delivery of basic services and the inherited historical role of various political and economic groups, in ensuring the establishment of democracy. Thus, if the first period post-1994 was about establishing democracy, this second period of democratic advancement is by contrast defined by the need for progressive movement towards enriching and securing a sustainable democracy and ensuring that gains made are not reversed. Having established a broad rubric of rights that protect citizens, capital, the formation of civil society, political opposition, and institutions that allow the state of function effectively South Africa is now facing the challenge of putting these rights and goals into action by delivering their intended benefits. Furthermore, we are mindful of the fact that our young democracy must remain vigilant to avoid the fate of many new democracies across the world that have abandoned democratic transformation and slid into authoritarian forms of governance. "Testing democracy: Which way is South Africa going?" is an assessment by democracy institute Idasa of the state of democracy in South Africa today. It draws on Idasa's democracy index – a unique barometer of 100 questions that measure progress in socio-economic delivery and the realization of the political rights of citizens. The title also interrogates the relationship between democracy and development and how underdevelopment prevents citizens from participating in democracy.