African youth are the most critical resource that the continent has in its quest for development and stability. Nevertheless, the rise of popular notions of youth apathy and disinterest require close examination of context-specific youth engagement. Few studies examine youth civic engagement from an African perspective, and researchers have done limited work summarising knowledge on this topic. Thus, the current study sought to synthesise African examples of youth-led civic engagement by reviewing empirical research published over the last seventeen years. An electronic search across ten databases yielded 3 017 studies, of which thirteen met the inclusion criteria. The findings indicate that young people engage in civic actions in response to social injustices and inequality stemming from socio-political challenges in their communities. In addition, the findings challenge the notion of 'youth apathy' by documenting young people's unconventional civic actions that redefine what it means to be a citizen in Africa and localise civic engagement on the continent. The review offers a strength-based perspective on youth civic engagement in Africa and asserts the need for youth actors to adopt a bottom-up and youth-informed approaches to policymaking and programme development.
Coalition governance has become a prominent feature of South Africa's political landscape, particularly after the 2024 general elections, when no single party secured an outright majority. Limited empirical research has examined how coalitions in democracies are framed in media discourse, and the implications for political legitimacy and public perception. An analysis of representations of coalition governance in political commentary disseminated through non-traditional media platforms (podcasts, televised interviews, public lectures) addresses this limitation. Adopting a qualitative approach, it employs discourse and framing analysis to examine how key political actors are discursively constructed in mediated narratives. A purposive sample of media content was selected to capture diverse ideological perspectives and institutional voices during the 2024 coalition formation period. The findings reveal that dominant discursive frames emphasise instability, elite-driven negotiation and ideological fragmentation, which collectively foster perceptions of fragility and erode public trust in coalition governance. Media narratives, particularly those articulated through popular and accessible digital platforms, play a pivotal role in shaping public understanding and evaluation of coalition politics. By interrogating these mediated constructions, my study contributes to debates on political communication, discourse and democratic consolidation in South Africa's evolving multi-party governance system.
