South Africa, Settler Colonialism and the Failures of Liberal Democracy

Abstract

This book could not have been completed without the support and assistance of many people who contributed in large and small ways. I have been thinking about the issues raised in this work for over a decade. I had first decided to write on contemporary democratic politics in 2009, and I received funding support from the Oppenheimer Foundation Trust. Aspects of research from that project have found their way into this text.In 2011, I received a Nordic Africa Institute scholarship. The Institute is a wonderful place to research and write. I thank Tor Sellström, Sonja Johansson, Inga-Britt Isaksson Faris and my fellow researchers Chibuike Uche and Mary Njeri Kinyanjui for their friendship and support.The book began to look realisable when I confirmed a contract with Zed Books in 2013. As with most book projects, this one went through periods of frantic writing, excitement, flowing ideas and also uncertainity. I extend many thanks to Ken Barlow for taking this unusual argument on, spending many hours reading my drafts and being such a patient, encouraging and supportive editor. I thank Dominic Fagan and the anon ymous reviewers for close reading of the manuscript and providing me with detailed questions and corrections. I want to thank those who read individual chapters, including Harry Stephan, Movindri Reddy, Ziyana Lategan, Harry Garuba and Shathley Q. Finally, I am grateful for my circle of friends and for the patience of my elderly parents, Jackie and Leela Reddy. My parents kept asking me when I would be finished, and now I can say that my excuses not to 'take them to the shops' have finally run out. I thank them for their love, support and sustained encouragement over many years.Throughout, my strongest support and most consistent encouragement has come from my partner, Neetha Ravjee, who read all the different versions, made detailed editorial corrections and forgave me when I did not use all of them, and our son, Ché-Len, a saviour, my role model and an inspiration.It is ironic that democratic South Africa continues to use the racial categories defined historically under Apartheid (African, Coloured, Indian/Asian and White). I reject this system of classification, and I would always place these terms within scare quotes if that were possible. Because it is not, I follow the convention associated with historical resistance practice and use the term 'Black' to refer to all those Africans, 'Coloureds' and 'Indians' whom Apartheid laws discriminated against, and I reluctantly use the historical racial group categories when referring to specific group political experiences.South Africa, a country known for Apartheid and Mandela, adopted a radical liberal democratic constitution after Apartheid. Unanimous praise for the peaceful transition from Apartheid between 1990 and 1994 came from all quarters of the globe. Hope, goodwill and a general sense of relief that Apartheid had been left behind prevailed. As Mandela eloquently said upon becoming the first democratically elected president of the 'new' South Africa, 'N...

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