Backyard Housing And The Dynamics Of Collective Action

Many people in South Africa live in very unsatisfactory so-called ‘backyard dwellings’. But few take part in collective action to improve their lot. Why not?

This puzzle centres on the broader idea known to social scientists as the ‘collective action problem’, that people often struggle to work together to achieve a common goal, leading to suboptimal outcomes. This has long been explored by scholars and is ever-present in our lives: in explanations, for example, of low voter turnout, depletion of natural resources, and foot-dragging in action to tackle climate change.

Yet collective action problems can be overcome under certain conditions – think of successful strike actions or civil rights protests, or the effective management of some local shared resources. And political scientists are naturally keen to understand what these conditions are, seeking answers by analysing group dynamics in different settings.  

To explore these questions, we are joined by Dr Adam Harris, Associate Professor in Development Politics here in the UCL Department of Political Science, and also an Associated Researcher with the Centre for Social Change at the University of Johannesburg. 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Making Demands on Government: Theorizing Determinants of Backyard Residents’ Collective Action in Cape Town, South Africa. African Studies Review