South Africa's Political Crisis : Unfinished Liberation and Fractured Class Struggles / / by Alexander Beresford

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910255313103321
• Autore: Beresford Alexander
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: London : , : Palgrave Macmillan UK : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2016
• ISBN: 9781137436603; 1137436603
• Edizione: [1st ed. 2016.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (188 p.)
• Disciplina: 331.880968
• Soggetti: Ethnology - Africa; Culture; Africa - Politics and government; Political sociology; Political science; International economic relations; African Culture; African Politics; Political Sociology; Political Science; International Political Economy'
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Cover; South Africa's Political Crisis; Contents; Acknowledgements; 1 Liberation's Dream Deferred; A dream deferred: the transition to democracy; The awkward embrace of neoliberalism; Towards a post-nationalist era?; A brief history of the Alliance; The implicit ideological compromise of the Alliance; Whither the Alliance?; Summary of the argument; Unpacking the NUMSA moment; Organisational dilemmas and the great transition from below; Exhausted or regenerative nationalism?; 2 Blurred Ideological Fault Lines; Responses to the NDP; Responses to the militant strike wave; The Marikana massacre: the final straw?Ideological blurring and the ; nationalist- populist backlash; Conclusion: fragmented labour struggles and defensive nationalism; 3 Internecine Factionalism; The interpenetration of union and ANC political struggles; Patronage politics in the unions?; Coups, purges and fractures; Violence; Corruption allegations; Sexual misconduct allegations; The blurred lines of patronage politics; Conclusion: a labour movement at war with itself; 4 Class Formation and the Politics of Social Mobility; Class formation and the mobility divide; Competing class interests within union structuresThe double-edged sword of upward mobility: the positive side; The double-edged sword of upward mobility: the negative side; Conclusion: understanding the 'transition from below'; 5 Union Democracy, Social Mobility and Stifled Militancy; Democracy at the grass roots?; Social mobility as a source of union decline?; The loss of a collective mobilising identity; Conclusion: mobilise or gradually wilt; 6 Exhausted or Regenerative Nationalism?; The symbolic political capital of ANC nationalism; The limits of symbolic political capital; The broad reach of nationalismWorkers' relationships with the post-apartheid state: workers' rights; Workers' relationships with the post-apartheid state: service delivery; Workers' relationships with the post-apartheid state: social welfare; No ordinary party; Conclusion; 7 Conclusion: Fractured Labour Struggles and the Unfinished Project of Liberation; Notes; 4 Class Formation and the Politics of Social Mobility; 5 Union Democracy, Social Mobility and Stifled Militancy; 6 Exhausted or Regenerative Nationalism?; Bibliography; Index
• Sommario/riassunto: South Africa's current political upheavals are the most significant since the transition from apartheid. Its powerful trade unions are playing a central role, and the political direction they take will have huge significance for how we understand the role of labour movements in struggles for social justice in the twenty-first century.