Anti-apartheid and the emergence of a global civil society / Håkan Thörn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thörn, Håkan.

Series:

St. Antony's series (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm))

St. Antony's series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Apartheid--South Africa.

Apartheid.

Race relations.

History.

South Africa.

Anti-apartheid movements--South Africa.

Anti-apartheid movements.

South Africa--Race relations--History--20th century.

Civil society.

Physical Description:

xiv, 251 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

Summary:

The author looks at anti-apartheid as part of the history of present global politics. He provides the first comparative analysis of different sections of the transnational anti-apartheid movement. A highly organized system of repression such as apartheid demanded organized resistance: from the late 1950s to the 1990s the anti-apartheid movement performed increasingly well-organized transnational collective action, based on a collective identity, an imagined community of solidarity activists, uniting people across large distances. Analysing a part of twentieth century post-war history mainly from a sociological perspective, this book also highlights dimensions of globalization in an era in which we still live, the power of the media and the power of collective action.

Contents:

Prologue: Apartheid as a Dark Side of Modernity xiii

Introduction: Anti-Apartheid, the Media and 'New Social Movements' - Beyond Eurocentrism 1

The long journey 1

Across borders 2

The globalization of politics 4

Anti-apartheid and human rights 5

Anti-apartheid and new social movements 7

Social movements and the mediatization of politics 15

Border thinking 18

Notes on material and method 20

Part I Anti-Apartheid in Global Context

1 Narratives of Transnational Anti-Apartheid Activism 29

Introduction: transnational activists and historical experiences 29

The activist public official 31

The activist priest 33

The exile activist 36

The movement organizer 40

The movement intellectual 43

Conclusion: transnational activism and its contexts 45

2 The Globalization of the Anti-Apartheid Movement 48

Introduction: transnational collective action and globalization 48

Transnationalism and its tensions: liberation movements, solidarity networks and 'the struggle within the struggle' 49

ANC, PAC and the armed struggle 50

Sanctions, boycotts and constructive engagement 60

Black Consciousness Movement, the IUEF and 'Operation Daisy' 66

Naming the movement 68

Political globalization from above 70

Conclusion: anti-apartheid as globalization from below 72

3 National Politics in a Global Context: Anti-Apartheid in Britain and Sweden 73

Introduction: national politics in a global context 73

The legacy of the Empire 75

Nationalism as internationalism 76

The state and other enemies 80

Ambivalent relations: the state as friend and foe 84

The 'image of respectability' versus the 'consensus culture' of the People's Home 86

Conflicting agendas 90

The worker's movement and the legacies of socialism/communism 93

Dealing with diversity 95

Conclusion: radical or respectable? 97

4 The Struggle over Information and Interpretation 99

Introduction: the importance of media and information 99

Apartheid media strategies 101

Media activism and information networks 105

Approaching established media 110

Commitment and journalism: in between movement and media 111

The movement as a stage - protest simulacra and the turn to cultural politics 117

Conclusion: technology and solidarity 122

Part II Public Debates on Apartheid/Anti-Apartheid in Britain and Sweden 1960-90

5 Beginnings: Sharpeville and the Boycott Debates 127

Introduction: the role of Sharpeville as a media event 127

Boycott News 128

Boycott debates 130

Sharpeville in the news: 'learning the lesson the hard way' 134

'To civilize the African' 137

Conclusion: framing the struggle 140

6 Sports as Politics: The Battle of Bastad and 'Stop the 70s Tour' 142

Introduction: student activism and sports as politics 142

May 1968: the Battle in Bastad 143

Stop the 70s Tour 147

The quest for order 151

Conclusion: direct action versus 'law and order' 156

7 'A New Black Militancy' - Before and after the Soweto Uprising 158

Introduction: Tutu's 'nightmarish fear' 158

'A new black militancy' 161

Soweto in the media: 'It's no good firing over their heads' 163

'An insupportable tyranny' 168

Conclusion: increasing polarization 170

8 Sharpeville Revisited and the Release of Nelson Mandela 174

The 'total strategy' and the rise of the UDF 174

'Take your bloody money and go' 177

Langa in the press: 'an uncanny resemblance of Sharpeville' 180

'Which black opposition?' 183

The release of Mandela 185

Conclusion: the beginning of the end 189

Conclusion: Anti-Apartheid and the Emergence of a Global Civil Society 192

Not an easy affair 192

Organizing and mobilizing transnational anti-apartheid 195

Mediated interaction and information politics 196

Mobility - travel and exile 199

An imagined community of solidarity activists 200

The emergence of a global civil society 203

The meaning(s) of solidarity 207

Epilogue: The Legacy of Anti-Apartheid 212.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 230-239) and index.

ISBN:

1403939373

OCLC:

62421314

Publisher Number:

9781403939371