The Politics of Necessity: community organizing and democracy in South Africa by Elke Zuern (review)

Runciman, Carin

doi:10.1353/trn.2014.0015

Cited by 2 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In my final year of undergraduate studies at UCT these were my majors and I was immersed in what I saw as critical, African-centred (rather than Eurocentric) debates about the descriptive and orientalising "power of the West" (Hall, 2002;Said, 2003). I was drawn to ideas about doing research which does not support objective statements or facts, but acknowledges the partiality and multiplicity of subjective truths (Clifford & Marcus, 1986); anarchist anthropologies of the economy (Graeber, 2004); and how social movements which seem "local", "particular" and "chaotic" could rather be seen as inherently political and play a part in shaping progressive social change (Ballard, 2005;Zuern, 2011). Touching the tips of these discussions in class, whilst around me the exciting and tenuous political environment of South Africa sharply focused my gaze onto these ideas, brought me to realise that change can and should be inspired through writing academically about the issues that people face.…”

Section: The Biography Of My Epistemological and Philosophical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This realisation came at the same time that I was studying and writing about social movements and alternative economies in geography class. I became interested in the idea that small-scale, localised, everyday movements and actions were inherently political and could amount to large scale transformation (Ballard, 2005;Zuern, 2011;Cameron, Healy & Gibson-Graham, 2013). So, in many ways I feel that this project has been empirically inspired by, and is very much a result of my upbringing in, a politically turbulent and lively city such as Cape Town.…”

Section: Positioning Myself In the Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is no surprise, therefore, that service-delivery protests have been the defining illustration of social movements in the country since 1994. While the period just post-Apartheid was relatively calm, the late-1990s onwards has seen the eruption of servicedelivery protests across the country, where the "one city principle", so desperately fought for during the Apartheid-regime, has not supported the poor as was imagined it would (Zuern, 2011). In many ways, these are small scale struggles of material, immediate demands (such as illegally reconnecting electricity, or evading rent payments).…”

Section: Progressive Politics? Mobilising In Post-apartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, as both Zuern (2011) and Ballard (2005) imply, the politics produced by the poor in South Africa cannot be reduced or simplified. Ballard (2005: 92) writes that "social movements tend to be imagined as the "hinge" around which society can be diverted in a different direction... [and so] the responsibility for a utopian future is thrust upon local level struggles".…”

Section: Progressive Politics? Mobilising In Post-apartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Perhaps this linkage is not as visible, or even initially intended, in post-Apartheid movements. However, while local struggles generally react in pragmatic, immediate ways so as to gain direct relief from everyday difficulties, they are also used to address broader issues, such as citizenship, rights and neoliberal policy (Ballard, 2005); as well as challenging notions of democracy and governance by demanding representation and consultation (Zuern, 2011).…”

Section: Progressive Politics? Mobilising In Post-apartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fostering new spaces: Celebrating and growing a diverse economy in Cape Town, South Africa

Hosking¹

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This thesis explores and celebrates diverse understandings and experiences of the economy through the narratives of four people working in Cape Town, South Africa. The diversity and multiplicity of the economy has been made invisible by a capitalocentric economic discourse which casts alternative ways of being as uncredible and weak. Thus, from a post-development/community economy perspective, I seek to foster a space in which non-conventional economic and political practices are seen as relevant and valid sites for action, where hope for a better future can be enabled. Living in the segregated city of Cape Town, I began to question the polemic framing of the country‟s “two economies”, a framing which disregards the actions of ordinary people who are improving the well-being of their communities directly, in favour of neoliberal pro-growth strategies. Therefore, I interrogate the binaries used to describe the economy and scale of action so as reimagine other possible trajectories for transformation. In so doing, I trace some of the relational connections that the participants articulated and employed on a daily basis so as to foster a sense of place beyond dualistic notions of scale and politics. I also contend that if we are to appreciate the community economy as a significant and persistent site of struggle, there is a need to understand politics as happening beyond the horizon of direct mobilisation. Through these reframings I work to reinsert the experiences and perspectives of spatially and economically marginalised people and places into implications in broader issues. I approach this research from a post-structural, feminist stance, not only to deconstruct the supposed dominance of the capitalist economy, but also to contribute to a project of growing a diverse economic discourse and enabling people to occupy this terrain and reclaim their agency. Hence, using ethnographic and visual collaborative methodologies I aim to promote and value the agency and autonomy of ordinary people who are performing, dreaming, enacting, connecting and enabling a broad horizon of opportunities in hybrid, multi-scalar ways. Therefore, alongside its conceptual contribution of enabling other economic possibilities, I hope that this thesis adds to a conversation about the need for methodologies to be realised as part of a broader movement towards transformation and change.

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Section: The Biography Of My Epistemological and Philosophical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Positioning Myself In the Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Progressive Politics? Mobilising In Post-apartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Progressive Politics? Mobilising In Post-apartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Progressive Politics? Mobilising In Post-apartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fostering new spaces: Celebrating and growing a diverse economy in Cape Town, South Africa

Hosking¹

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Violence and democracy in South Africa's community protests

Paret

2015

Review of African Political Economy

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Community protests in South Africa are often described as violent. Drawing from newspaper articles, interviews with protesters and statements by public officials, this paper unpacks the meaning of ‘violent protest'. It shows that violence is both ambiguous and deeply entangled with democracy. On the one hand, violent practices may become a tool of liberation, promoting democracy by empowering marginalised groups. On the other hand, democracy may become a tool of domination, undermining dissent by constituting as violent those persons and actions that deviate from formal institutional channels. The analysis urges scholars to adopt a critical and nuanced view of violence.

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The Politics of Necessity: community organizing and democracy in South Africa by Elke Zuern (review)

Cited by 2 publications

References 5 publications

Fostering new spaces: Celebrating and growing a diverse economy in Cape Town, South Africa

Fostering new spaces: Celebrating and growing a diverse economy in Cape Town, South Africa

Violence and democracy in South Africa's community protests

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