From National Liberation to Democratic Renaissance in Southern Africa

Authors

Cheryl Hendricks (ed)
Lwazi Lushaba  (ed)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.57054/codesria.pub.262

Keywords:

National Liberation, Democratic Renaissance, Southern Africa, colonial rule

Synopsis

“This collection provides a set of original essays that collectively enrich and move our understanding of Southern African societies in exciting new directions. The volume brings together an interdisciplinary team of younger and older scholars whose contributions deconstruct the dominant discourses in Southern African studies by vigorously reexamining the complex processes of national liberation and the challenges of post-liberation identity politics, democratization, and social transformation. It captures, compellingly, the historical forces and contemporary dynamics that unite, divide, and differentiate this fascinating and multifaceted region.”

“This collection of essays is one of the most important contributions to the ongoing debate on some key aspects of the recent history and politics of Southern Africa. Unlike many texts which reduce the discussion of Southern Africa to that of South Africa, this volume examines the process of democratization and state transformation from a broad regional perspective. Stakeholders at the grassroots level, particularly in civil society, are given a voice which highlights their contributions to the ever-changing political landscape of the region. The editors have done a masterful job in weaving together essays that critically examine democratization in the Southern Africa region with an eye to the lessons learned, and their application to the rest of the continent. This is a valuable addition to the literature on democracy in Africa.”

The collection of papers captured in this volume offer fresh, important and critical insights into our understanding of contemporary Southern Africa in transition. Anybody who wishes to understand the region is advised to read this book

From National Liberation to Democratic Renaissance in Southern Africa broadly engages the region’s political and cultural economies and, in particular, the ways in which the legacies and the nature of the liberation movement imprint on post-liberation patterns of change and on continuing challenges. The authors draw on current discourses and theoretical interventions to revisit national liberation struggles and to address issues of identity, post-liberation state-building and democratisation. Case studies from Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe reflect concerns pertinent to the whole region, i.e., social transformation, reconciliation, democratic governance, the politics of race, ethnicity, gender and nationalism. Collectively, the chapters provide the reader with insights into current debates and practices in the region.

Chapters

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Author Biographies

Cheryl Hendricks

 is currently the Head of the Southern Africa Human Security Program at the Institute for Security Studies. She was previously a Political Analyst at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and the Academic Manager at the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town, South Africa.

 

Lwazi Lushaba 

is currently completing his doctorate degree at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He has been a recipient of several prestigious awards and fellowships. His research interests range from youth politics, political economy of the South African transition to identity and citizenship politics in transitional societies.

Balem Nyeko

 is an Associate Professor of History at the University of
Swaziland, Southern Africa, having previously taught at the National University of Lesotho, the University of Zambia, and Makerere University in Uganda.

Raymond Suttner

is a former political prisoner. He has published extensively and especially on questions of South African resistance and democratisation, most recently editing the autobiography of Ray Alexander Simons,
All my life and All my Strength (STE Publishers, 2004). Currently he is attached
to the College of Humanities at the University of South Africa in Pretoria.

Terence M. Mashingaidze

is a Zimbabwean historian. He was educated at
the University of Zimbabwe from where he obtained a BA general in history
and economic history, a BA in history, and an MA in African history. He has
taught at the University of Zimbabwe and is currently teaching in the
Department of History and Development Studies at the Midlands State University where he is also the Head of Department. His research and teaching
interests include gender and development, youth and governance, Zimbabwean
history, governance and African electoral issues.

Ingrid Palmary

is a former Researcher in the City Safety Project at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.

Monique Vanek

 is the business content editor for the Citizen, at Moneyweb,
South Africa, and a producer for several radio programmes. She completed
her MA at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. She has written
several articles for the Citizen.

Munyaradzi Mushonga

 holds an MA in History and lectures in the History
Department of the University of Zimbabwe. His areas of expertise and
research interests are historiography (Western and non-Western) and African
History with special emphasis on race, class and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, identity and nationalism. He has done consultancy work in education,
gender, human rights and democracy.

Mompoloki Bagwasi

is currently a lecturer in the English Department at
the University of Botswana. Her area of specialization is language and linguistics. She did her masters at the University of Leeds (UK) in 1992 and
doctorate studies at Indiana University (USA) in 2002. Though a languages
major, she is currently involved in the kind of language research that attempts
to link language to history, politics, sociology and economics.

Adekunle Amuwo

 is currently the Executive Secretary, African Association
of Political Science (AAPS) based in Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a BSc
and an MSc from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a PhD. from the
University of Bordeaux, France in Comparative Public Policy & Governance, Civil-Military Relations/Francophone Africa. He is a Senior Lecturer in
the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan.

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Published

July 23, 2005

Series

CODESRIA Books
Copyright (c) 2005 CODESRIA Books Publication System