South Africa Limits To Change

Drawing on the rich structural and political understandings of radical South African intellectuals, this book explains why the South African government has been unable to breach the boundaries of change erected by the privileged classes. It reveals why it has adopted conservative economic policies, and why the country's popular movement has failed to press home more radical opinions. Hein Marais compellingly probes the hidden dynamics of South Africa's transition, arguing that the democratic breakthrough was much less open-ended than generally believed.

Since 1994, the democratic government in South Africa has worked hard at improving the lives of the black majority, yet close to half the population lives in poverty, jobs are scarce, and the country is more unequal than ever. For millions, the colour of people's skin still decides their destiny. In his wide-ranging, incisive and provocative analysis, Hein Marais shows that although the legacies of apartheid and colonialism weigh heavy, many of the strategic choices made since the early 1990s have compounded those handicaps. Marais explains why those choices were made, where they went awry, and why South Africa's vaunted formations of the left -- old and new -- have failed to prevent or alter them. From the real reasons behind President Jacob Zuma's rise and the purging of his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, to a devastating critique of the country's continuing AIDS crisis, its economic path and its approach to the rights and entitlements of citizens, South Africa Pushed to the Limit presents a riveting benchmark analysis of the incomplete journey beyond apartheid.

Drawing on the rich structural and political understandings of radical South African intellectuals, this book explains why the South African government has been unable to breach the boundaries of change erected by the privileged classes. It reveals why it has adopted conservative economic policies, and why the country's popular movement has failed to press home more radical opinions. Hein Marais compellingly probes the hidden dynamics of South Africa's transition, arguing that the democratic breakthrough was much less open-ended than generally believed.

Post-apartheid South Africa's foreign policy has accepted a range of leadership responsibilities within multilateral institutions. This text assesses how, in these various leadership capacities, South Africa has been able to punch above its weight diplomatically. Pretoria's intervention or support for a particular position has sometimes been crucial in breaking a deadlock or securing the co-operation of others. South Africa has also used its profile to act as a voice for the vunerable, smaller states in world affairs. Based on their assessment of globalization as a process that holds some benefits, but also many dangers, for developing countries, both the Mandela and Mbeki persidencies have used multilateral forums to push for a greater say by developing countries in global governance. This position seems to indicate a reformist tendency in South African foreign policy. This book examines whether Pretoria's multilateral diplomacy contributes to global transformation, or whether South Africa's policies help maintain a fundamentally flawed global order.

Explores issues of political identity and the social changes that ended apartheid in South Africa.