Bloomsbury South Africa (Inventing the Nation)

At the heart of South Africas miracle transition from intractable ethno-racial conflict to democracy was an improvised nation born out of war weariness, hope, idealism and calculated pragmatism on the part of the elites who negotiated the compromise settlement. In the absence of any of the conventional bonds of national consciousness, the improvised nation was fixed on the civic identity and national citizenship envisaged in the new constitution. In the twentieth anniversary year of the countrys democracy, South Africa reviews the progress of nation-building in post-apartheid South Africa, assesses how well the improvised nation has been embedded in a shared life for South Africans and offers a prognosis for its future. It draws up a socio-economic profile of the population which is the raw material of nation-building. It measures the contributions of the polity and the constitution, religion and values, as well as sport and the media, to building a sense of national citizenship. The book explains the abrupt discontinuity between the contributions of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki to nation-building and goes on to note the changing focus from reconciliation between black and white to include a concern for social cohesion in a society beset by violent crime, corruption and citizen deviance and dissidence. South Africa reconsiders the short, intense life cycle of Afrikaner nationalism and portrays the ambiguous relationships between African nationalism, non-racialism, civic nationalism and African tradition in the ideology and practice of the African National Congress. In doing so, it provides a comprehensive analysis of a crucial aspect of South Africas first twenty years of democracy, as well as exploring intriguing questions for the student of nationalism. Review Alexander Johnston has written a carefully thought-out and impeccable tour de force of sober and sobering analysis. He diagnoses every aspect of the contemporary South African condition with a care and commitment to research and balance that makes other scholars feel ashamed. This is without doubt the best book on South Africa since it attained majority rule. ― Stephen Chan, Professor of World Politics, SOAS, University of London, UK Alexander Johnston has produced a closely argued and well-written analysis of South Africa’s development of a ‘serviceable sense of nationhood’. His book is a welcome addition to the burgeoning literature on nationalism. It is innovative, scholarly and detached in tone and substance. Social scientists in a variety of disciplines will find much to admire in this genuinely pioneering study. ― J. E. Spence OBE FKC, Professor in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, UK An impressive, nuanced study of the South African case, centered on the transition from a long era of harsh authoritarian rule under an apartheid regime monopolized by the white minority to an arrangement adopted two decades ago of black-majority rule under a nominally democratic, multiracial dispensation. The author examines such factors as the perspectives and styles of black leaders Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, profound social inequity, and pervasive crime and corruption and concludes, fairly, that South Africa persists as a deeply fragmented society, a 'minimum nation' whose identity is far more one of convenience than one of stability that promotes shared values, interests, and goals. The book is well-written and reads well. It merits the attention of students and scholars and of policy makers and practitioners of the political art. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. -- A. Magid, SUNY at Albany ― CHOICE About the Author Alexander Johnston is a research associate of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he was Professor of Political Science from 1994 to 2002. Subsequently he was Senior Associate at the Centre for Development and Enterprise in Johannesburg. He currently works as a politic