Political cultures in democratic South Africa

Abstract

The democratic transition in South Africa that emerged during the 1990s and became manifest in a democratically elected government, has not yet brought to completion the post-Apartheid social and political transformation of that country. In fact, it has far from consolidated a new socio-political culture. The contributions to this Discussion Paper reflect upon different but related aspects of South African democracy after Apartheid as represented in a variety of social forces, institutions and individuals. They illustrate that societies in transition have to make sustained efforts to overcome the legacies of the past, and that the present reproduces some of the past structural constraints and patterns of power and control in the new framework. This publication has been compiled under the aegis of the research network on “Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa” (LiDeSa), currently coordinated through the Nordic Africa Institute. The contributions were originally presented to a workshop organised in Cape Town in December 2001.

CONTENTS -- Democracy, Rights Discourse, National Healing and State Formation: Theoretical Reflections on the Liberation Transition in Southern Africa/MICHAEL NEOCOSMOS -- Culture(s) of the African National Congress of South Africa: Exile and Prison Experiences/RAYMOND SUTTNER -- Neo-liberalism and Democracy: The Role of Intellectuals in South Africa’s “Democratic Transition”/IAN TAYLOR