Down the post-colonial road: reconstructing the post-apartheid state in South Africa

Abstract

Abstract South Africa's transition to democracy earned its place among the ‘miracles’ of the twentieth century. The transition not only symbolised the end of a protracted struggle against apartheid but also ushered in a new era of the reconstruction of state and society. My intention in this paper is to analyse the reconstruction of the post-apartheid state in South Africa against the backdrop of the post-colonial state in Africa. The paper focuses on territorial restructuring and nation-building as some of the main challenges facing the new polity. Such challenges, I argue, are not unique to South Africa, but are a familiar feature of the post-colony on the continent. However, South Africa faces those challenges against a pessimistic record of its counterparts in Africa, and under different circumstances. Notwithstanding that pessimism, the question that is central to the analysis presented here is how South Africa has responded to challenges of territorial restructuring and nation-building.