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This article explores trust dynamics among a coalition of civil society organizations called Unite Behind that formed in Cape Town, South Africa, in late 2017. Unite Behind was established to demand more accountability from a state marred by corruption—and specifically for the resignation of then President Jacob Zuma. When Zuma resigned, the coalition attempted to transition to a social movement campaigning for social justice but declined as a coalition into an organization of sorts. Taking trust as a positive belief in the reliability, truth or ability of an actor or entity, this article argues that conceptions of political and social/generalized trust are of less importance in explaining the rise and fall of Unite Behind than a combination of personal trust in particular leaders, and a form of particularized trust, namely, trust in other organizations. This notion of organizational trust as a form of particularized trust is of potential wider importance to the analysis of civil society network co-ordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Container Based Sanitation (CBS) is seen, by some, as a sustainable sanitation 'solution' for informal settlements. Presented as a cost-effective form of improved, safely managed, affordable, and water-saving sanitation, proponents argue that it not only enhances safety for vulnerable groups, but that it can also be funded through innovative market and circular economy solutions. The City of Cape Town (CoCT) provides CBS on a large scale to informal settlements for free. Yet residents are notoriously unhappy with CBS. This paper is based on two years of fieldwork in BM Section, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, which included transect walks, participant observation, engagement with community leaders and civil society activists, and in-depth interviews with 42 respondents including BM Section residents, City of Cape Town officials, and private sector contractors. The paper applies the concept of infrastructural citizenship to examine the provision of Portable Flush Toilets (PFTs), a form of CBS, in Khayelitsha. Our data reveals conflicted views in relation to the (non)adoption of CBS, which are deeply entwined with frustration at the unmet promises of the post-apartheid state. At face value, CBS in Cape Town is an acceptable and successful form of sanitation for informal settlements. However, this paper suggests that this is an illusion. Our case study reveals that PFTs are experienced as neither a dignified nor a sustainable sanitation solution. This paper shifts the debate surrounding the adequacy and nature of sanitation provision in informal settlements, from focusing on material technological systems to the complexity of sanitation-related infrastructural citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, building on analyses from the global south, attempts to reframe democratic expectations by considering where previously maligned practices such as clientelism may hold moments of democracy. It does so by comparing the theory of civil society with that of clientelism, and its African counterpart neo-patrimonialism. It argues that clientelism as civil society may fulfil democratic tasks such as holding the (local) state accountable, strengthening civil and political liberties and providing channels of access for previously marginalised groups. Clientelism is not necessarily a reflection of imposed power relations but, at times, can demonstrate a conscious political strategy, to generate development, on the part of its protagonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]