The Open Society Foundation, South Africa (OSF-SA) commissioned MISTRA to undertake a study titled, ‘Understanding South Africa’s post-colonial democratic trajectory: a comparative analysis of post-liberation societies.’ The aim of the research project is to find and interpret evidence relating to whether South Africa’s current democratic trajectory is exceptional and/ or comparable to other post-liberation experiences. In answering this question, the research seeks to identify and compare those traits that characterise (or have shaped) the democracy trajectories of Algeria, India and Mozambique.