Chieftainship, Civil Society, and the Political Transition in South Africa

Abstract

This article examines how the institution of chieftaincy has become one of the central political controversies in the transition to a post-apartheid order in South Africa. The paper begins by situating chiefs in the struggle against apartheid, especially with regard to their participation in the Bantustan structures. It proceeds by examining their role in the pre-election (1990-1994) and immediate post-election (1994-1996) periods of the political transition. Particular attention is given to the dynamics in the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal regions where the conflict over chieftainship has been especially marked. The paper shows how the institution of chieftainship is vulnerable to political opportunism and often challenged by the spread of organs of civil society.