Occult Beliefs, Globalisation and the Quest for Development in African Societies: The Example of South Africa

Abstract

The second wind of change, the democratic renewal in Africa and elsewhere in the early 1990s was greeted with great enthusiasm. In South Africa it gave rise to additional expectations as it was linked to liberation from the apartheid regime. But as years went by without tangible improvement in the social and economic standing of the majority of the population, those who believed in occult forces such as magic and witchcraft started to view efforts promoted in the name of “liberation” and “democratisation” rather as the devil’s work or simply as witchcraft with a pretext and hidden agenda aimed at exploiting innocent citizens. Democratisation without development, without improvement of people’s material wellbeing, meant next to nothing. Bewildered peasants, workers and unemployed, and even striving African entrepreneurs nowadays may often trust more in economic development by means of magic, witchcraft or