The Politics Of Race Class And Nationalism In Twentieth Century South Africa

"The standard of contribution is high . . . the reader gets a good sense of the cutting edge of historical research." – African Affairs

`Darryl Glaser supplies an illuminating overview of the scholarship since 1970 on South Africa′s political history. His emphasis is on the debates between liberals, Marxists, and to a lesser extent "post-structuralists" about the origins and the course of South Africa′s racial order′ - Tom Lodge, University of Witwatersrand `A well-researched, well-argued, readable, interesting, informative and competent study′ - Capital and Class Providing a wide-ranging and critical introduction to contemporary South Africa, this book uses an interdisciplinary lens to introduce the student to the main debates, historical context, and issues that have characterized the study of South Africa over the last three decades. Key topics include: the role of colonialism, capitalism and modernity in the formation of the racial order; changes in the South African state; questions of class, race and ehtnicity; black resistance; and the transition to democracy. A number of underlying debates are critically evaluated. For exmple, the contribution of materialist and class-analytic approaches, the application of post-structuralism and theories of modernity, and the prospects for democratic liberalism and socialism in post-apartheid South Africa.

As South Africa moves towards majority rule, and blacks begin to exercise direct political power, apartheid becomes a thing of the past - but its legacy in South African history will be indelible. this book is designed to introduce students to a range of interpretations of one of South Africa's central social characteristics: racial segregation. It: • brings together eleven articles which span the whole history of segregation from its origins to its final collapse • reviews the new historiography of segregation and the wide variety of intellectual traditions on which it is based • includes a glossary, explanatory notes and further reading.

Why and how has race become a central aspect of politics during this century? This book addresses this pressing question by comparing South African apartheid and resistance to it, the United States Jim Crow law and protests against it, and the myth of racial democracy in Brazil. Anthony Marx argues that these divergent experiences had roots in the history of slavery, colonialism, miscegenation and culture, but were fundamentally shaped by impediments and efforts to build national unity. In South Africa and the United States, ethnic or regional conflicts among whites were resolved by unifying whites and excluding blacks, while Brazil's longer established national unity required no such legal racial crutch. Race was thus central to projects of nation-building, and nationalism shaped uses of race. Professor Marx extends this argument to explain popular protest and the current salience of issues of race.

Apartheid was an oppressive and brutal system of racial discrimination that captured and appalled world opinion during the latter half of the twentieth century. South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid examines the history of South Africa during this period of apartheid: from 1948 when the Nationalists came to power, through to the collapse of the system in the 1990s. Written in a clear and accessible manner, the book: charts the history of the apartheid regime, starting with the institution of the policy, through the mounting opposition in the 1970’s and 1980’s, to its eventual collapse in the 1990’s highlights the internal contradictions of white supremacy demonstrates how black opposition, from that of Nelson Mandela to that of thousands of ordinary people, finally brought an end to white minority rule provides an extensive set of documents to give insight into the minds of those who fashioned and those who opposed apartheid discusses the subsequent legacy of apartheid Also containing a Chronology, Glossary, Who’s Who of leading figures and Guide to Further Reading, this book provides students with the most up-to-date and succinct introduction to the ideology and practice of apartheid in South Africa.

"The standard of contribution is high . . . the reader gets a good sense of the cutting edge of historical research." – African Affairs