Herrenvolk democracy

Ballot paper used in the referendum. Ballot reads on the upper row: IS U TEN GUNSTE VAN 'N REPUBLIEK VIR DIE UNIE? in Afrikaans and on the bottom row: ARE YOU IN FAVOUR OF A REPUBLIC FOR THE UNION? in English.
A ballot paper from the 1960 South African republic referendum, in which only white people were allowed to vote—the first such national election in the union.

Herrenvolk democracy is a nominally democratic form of government in which only a specific ethnic group has voting rights and the right to run for office, while other groups are disenfranchised.[1] Herrenvolk democracy is a subtype of ethnocracy, which refers to any form of government where one ethnic group dominates the state, with or without elections. Elections were/are generally free, but voting suffrage was restricted based on race, with governance that reflected the interests of the politically dominant racial group. The German term Herrenvolk, meaning "master race", was used in nineteenth century discourse that justified German colonialism with the supposed racial superiority of Europeans.[2]

The Confederate States of America (1861–1865), Apartheid South Africa (1948–1994), Rhodesia (1965–1980), and Liberia (1847–1946) are uncontroversially described as examples of Herrenvolk democracy. The State of Israel (1948–) has also been characterized as a Herrenvolk democracy by some scholars, but other scholars dispute this characterization.

  1. ^ Vickery, Kenneth P. (June 1974). "'Herrenvolk' Democracy and Egalitarianism in South Africa and the U.S. South". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 16 (13): 309–328. doi:10.1017/s0010417500012469. JSTOR 17826.
  2. ^ Gründer, Horst (1999). "Ideologie und Praxis des deutschen Kolonialismus" [Ideology and practice of German colonialism]. In Beck, Thomas (ed.). Überseegeschichte [Overseas history]. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. pp. 254 et seq. ISBN 9783515074902.