ANC and its use of history to build its brand

Abstract

The African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling party since its liberation from apartheid in1994, has one of the most compelling stories in modern political history. Few political partiesin the world have such a momentous, historically moving narrative; and few have used it tosuch effect. The party has specialised in associating itself with the “collective memory” of theSouth African people, ensuring that the ANC has been strongly associated with the South Africanstruggle narrative of the twentieth century. This is the heart of the “good story” that has kept theruling party in power since 1994 and made it very difficult for other political groupings to claim tohave played a major role in the struggle for freedom in South Africa.