Introduction

Abstract

This Study Investigates The Connection Between Late Nationalism and democracy, using South Africa as a case in point. I argue that liberal democracy in South Africa accommodated and left unresolved the contradictions of South African capitalism and the African National Congress’s (ANC) multiracial nationalist debate. More specifically, the achievement of equal political rights in the new democracy was premised on the acceptance of unequal economic relations among different classes, genders, and races. Furthermore, the middle-class in all its multiracial and multiethnic diversity is threatened from above and below. Popular demands from below sometimes lead the middle class to partially satisfy the majority’s economic and social demands. Pressures from various economic interests (particularly the business community) limit its room for maneuver. These pressures force the middle class to make compromises that are detrimental to the economic interests of the majority of the population. These realities will continue to inform the ANC and the economic and social policies of future African leaders as they try to transform South Africa. In short, this study seeks to understand South Africa’s multiracial nationalism in the wake of the transition from apartheid to liberal democracy, without a simultaneous transformation of economic relations. This work also examines liberal democracy in contemporary South Africa and the challenges that face this unique experiment.KeywordsLiberal DemocracyAfrican National CongressNational PartySouth African CommunityPetty BourgeoisieThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.