The Opening of the Apartheid Mind - Options for the New South Africa (Hardcover, New)

From Canadian husband-and-wife sociologists Adam (Simon Fraser University, Vancouver) and Moodley (University of British Columbia): a nonpartisan and nuanced look at the "various competing forces" now shaping post-apartheid South Africa. Adam and Moodley also coauthored South Africa without Apartheid (1986). Much of the analysis here attempts to address the ereotypes of both left and right that failed to explain the "miracle" that led to South Africa's current multiparty negotiations - or to account for the continuing violence. The authors note that neither the revolutionary nor the reformist agenda anticipated that the country would be transformed by these negotiations - negotiations "that grant all major forces a stake in a historic compromise, by which each party stands to gain more than it would lose by continuing the confrontation." The result will probably be an ANC government working with a strong multiracial Nationalist Party to create broad-based policies. But such a compromise, Adam and Moodley warn, may well exacerbate South Africa's increasing divide along economic rather than racial lines as these two urban-based political parties control the spoils. The authors contend that it's this divide between the haves and the have-nots - between the urban areas and the rural - that's basically responsible for the current escalating violence. Tribal identity, they say, isn't as important as economic disparities, enormous unemployment among unskilled migrant workers, and the pervasive feeling among this group that their situation has deteriorated rather than improved with the ending of apartheid. Adam and Moodley analyze the various parties; the Communist agenda; the role of the unions; and the potential for disruption by either the far right or the left. As to the future, they're somewhat sanguine: A Yugoslavia or Lebanon type of scenario seems unlikely if the present cautious cooperation and "remarkable pragmatic rationalism" continue. For South Africa watchers: a timely, informative, and thoughtful appraisal. (Kirkus Reviews)

Refusing to be governed by what is fashionable or inoffensive, Heribert Adam and Kogila Moodley frankly address the passions and rationalities that drive politics in post-apartheid South Africa. They argue that the country's quest for democracy is widely misunderstood and that public opinion abroad relies on stereotypes of violent tribalism and false colonial analogies.
Adam and Moodley criticize the personality cult surrounding Nelson Mandela and the accolades accorded F. W. de Klerk. They reject the black-versus-white conflict and substitute sober analysis and strategic pragmatism for the moral outrage that typifies so much writing about South Africa. Believing that the best expression of solidarity emanates from sympathetic but candid criticism, they pose challenging questions for the African National Congress and Nelson Mandela. They give in-depth coverage to political violence, the ANC-South African Communist Party alliance, Inkatha, and other controversial topics as well.
The authors do not propose a solution that will guarantee a genuinely democratic South Africa. What they offer is an understanding of the country's social conditions and political constraints, and they sketch options for both a new South Africa and a new post-Cold War foreign policy for the whole of southern Africa. The importance of this book is as immediate as today's headlines.

General

Imprint:	University of California Press
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Perspectives on Southern Africa, 50
Release date:	June 1993
First published:	1993
Authors:	Heribert Adam • Kogila Moodley
Dimensions:	236 x 156 x 28mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Cloth over boards
Pages:	277
Edition:	New
ISBN-13:	978-0-520-08199-4
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Ethnic studies > Black studies Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Ethnic studies > Multicultural studies > General Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political control & freedoms > Human rights > General
LSN:	0-520-08199-4
Barcode:	9780520081994

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