These `interventions’ are spurred by what in South Africa today is a buzz-phrase: social cohesion. The term, or concept, is bandied about with little reflection by leaders or spokespeople in politics, business, labour, education, sport, entertainment and the media. Yet, who would not wish to live in a socially cohesive society? How, then, do we apply the ideal in the daily round when diversity of language, religion, culture, race and the economy too often supersedes our commitment to a common citizenry? How do we live together rather than live apart? Such questions provoke the purpose of these interventions. The interventions – essays, which are short, incisive, at times provocative – tackle issues that are pertinent to both living together and living apart: equality/inequality, public pronouncement, xenophobia, safety, chieftaincy in modernity, gender-based abuse, healing, the law, education, identity, sport, new `national’ projects, the role of the arts, South Africa in the world. In focusing on such issues, the essays point towards the making of a future, in which a critical citizenry is key to a healthy society. Contributors include leading academics and public figures in South Africa today: Christopher Ballantine, Ahmed Bawa, Michael Chapman, Jacob Dlamini, Jackie Dugard, Kira Erwin, Nicole Fritz, Michael Gardiner, Gerhard Maré, Monique Marks, Rajend Mesthrie, Bonita Meyersfeld, Leigh-Ann Naidoo, Njabulo S. Ndebele, Kathryn Pillay, Faye Reagon, Brenda Schmahmann, Himla Soodyall, David Spurrett and Thuto Thipe.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as a political and moral concept waning in a time of peace and globalization. The shock of September 11 shook this assessment, as it brought a new surge of patriotism to America. In this volume, nine authors debate the consequences of the 21st century's patriotic resurgence, examining it both in theoretical and comparative terms that draw on examples of patriotism from ancient Greece to post-apartheid South Africa. Each author has chosen a different angle of approach, examining a variety of interlinking questions. Should patriotism be defined to enhance universalistic concerns or is its particularistic vantage point the source of its virtue? Is patriotism a concept prone to manipulation by elites or is it a source of independent judgments by citizens? If patriotism is love of one's country, how is that love best expressed? Is such love demonstrated by fidelity, gratitude, compassion, remembrance, shame, dissent, or some combination? Joined together by Philip Abbott's incisive introduction, the essays illuminate the many-faceted nature of patriotism today. Published in cooperation with The Center for the Study of Citizenship at Wayne State University.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as a political and moral concept waning in a time of peace and globalization. The shock of September 11 shook this assessment, as it brought a new surge of patriotism to America. In this volume, nine authors debate the consequences of the 21st century's patriotic resurgence, examining it both in theoretical and comparative terms that draw on examples of patriotism from ancient Greece to post-apartheid South Africa. Each author has chosen a different angle of approach, examining a variety of interlinking questions. Should patriotism be defined to enhance universalistic concerns or is its particularistic vantage point the source of its virtue? Is patriotism a concept prone to manipulation by elites or is it a source of independent judgments by citizens? If patriotism is love of one's country, how is that love best expressed? Is such love demonstrated by fidelity, gratitude, compassion, remembrance, shame, dissent, or some combination? Joined together by Philip Abbott's incisive introduction, the essays illuminate the many-faceted nature of patriotism today. Published in cooperation with The Center for the Study of Citizenship at Wayne State University.