Being South African and Belonging: The Status and Practice of Mediated Citizenship in a New Democracy

Abstract

Democratic South Africa, with its highly inclusive constitution and embrace of all races, creeds and colours, could be understood as having an ideal form of citizenship to be emulated by other nations. At the heart of the 1996 constitution is the eradication of apartheid separation and the provision that all South Africans have shared humanity (‘ubuntu’). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission entrenched three founding critical ideas in public life: the right to talk, the recognition of shared humanity and the impulse to speak out about the horrors of the past. As a result the public sphere is filled with a great outpouring of personal stories and experiences in both the mainstream and popular forms of media. But South Africans continue to be preoccupied with the status of their citizenship; who a South African is and who belongs is uppermost in many public conversations. Recently, in the elite public sphere, a number of columnists and public figures have launched attacks, often highly racialised, on sections of the South African population or on high-profile members, calling into question their loyalty and belonging. The media has also been criticised for not adhering to ‘African values’. And characteristic too of the New South Africa, is an increase in protest action on the streets and violence against protesters by police and state agents, calling into question whether the practice of citizenship is possible for the impoverished, unemployed majority who are marginalised from formal political processes and the mediated public sphere. We ask whether these features of our public life are indicative of a crisis in mediated citizenship and whether the South African news media have the capacity to enable a wide range of voices and subject positions to enter the public sphere and shape debate and decision-making.