Rethinking the South African Crisis

Nationalism, Populism, Hegemony

Nonfiction, History, Africa, South Africa, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Human Geography, Political Science
Cover of the book Rethinking the South African Crisis by Gillian Hart, University of Georgia Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gillian Hart ISBN: 9780820347257
Publisher: University of Georgia Press Publication: March 15, 2014
Imprint: University of Georgia Press Language: English
Author: Gillian Hart
ISBN: 9780820347257
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Publication: March 15, 2014
Imprint: University of Georgia Press
Language: English

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has become an extreme yet unexceptional embodiment of forces at play in many other regions of the world: intensifying inequality alongside “wageless life,” proliferating forms of protest and populist politics that move in different directions, and official efforts at containment ranging from liberal interventions targeting specific populations to increasingly common police brutality.

Rethinking the South African Crisis revisits long-standing debates to shed new light on the transition from apartheid. Drawing on nearly twenty years of ethnographic research, Hart argues that local government has become the key site of contradictions. Local practices, conflicts, and struggles in the arenas of everyday life feed into and are shaped by simultaneous processes of de-nationalization and re-nationalization. Together they are key to understanding the erosion of African National Congress hegemony and the proliferation of populist politics.

This book provides an innovative analysis of the ongoing, unstable, and unresolved crisis in South Africa today. It also suggests how Antonio Gramsci’s concept of passive revolution, adapted and translated for present circumstances with the help of philosopher and liberation activist Frantz Fanon, can do useful analytical and political work in South Africa and beyond.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has become an extreme yet unexceptional embodiment of forces at play in many other regions of the world: intensifying inequality alongside “wageless life,” proliferating forms of protest and populist politics that move in different directions, and official efforts at containment ranging from liberal interventions targeting specific populations to increasingly common police brutality.

Rethinking the South African Crisis revisits long-standing debates to shed new light on the transition from apartheid. Drawing on nearly twenty years of ethnographic research, Hart argues that local government has become the key site of contradictions. Local practices, conflicts, and struggles in the arenas of everyday life feed into and are shaped by simultaneous processes of de-nationalization and re-nationalization. Together they are key to understanding the erosion of African National Congress hegemony and the proliferation of populist politics.

This book provides an innovative analysis of the ongoing, unstable, and unresolved crisis in South Africa today. It also suggests how Antonio Gramsci’s concept of passive revolution, adapted and translated for present circumstances with the help of philosopher and liberation activist Frantz Fanon, can do useful analytical and political work in South Africa and beyond.

More books from University of Georgia Press

Cover of the book The Politics of Urban Water by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book James McHenry, Forgotten Federalist by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book The Nashville Sound by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book The Invisibles by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book Slavery and the University by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book International Cooperation on WMD Nonproliferation by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book A Cry of Angels by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book Womanpower Unlimited and the Black Freedom Struggle in Mississippi by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book Unwhite by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book Slaying the Nuclear Dragon by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book Compression Scars by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book Rights in Transit by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book Everybody Sing! by Gillian Hart
Cover of the book Relational Poverty Politics by Gillian Hart
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy