Apart from local monographs and normative texts on community participation, research on community leadership constitutes a blind spot in urban leadership, urban politics, social movements and urban studies. This article, based on case studies in post-apartheid Johannesburg, contributes to...

Urban social movements in Johannesburg are sidelining participatory institutions, and local councilors in particular, in order to be heard. This is due mainly to the centralization of powers in the hands of the mayor, and the fact that local councilors are primarily accountable to the dominant...