The Extra-Parliamentary Opposition in South Africa

Abstract

The reality of South African politics is that the NP and the ANC control both the nature and tempo of political power. They do this from opposite directions, namely, control and resistance. As Adam wrote in 1988: ‘The reason for the increased presence of the African National Congress in South Africa lies in its legal absence’.1 He went on to quote Tom Harris, a seasoned American analyst of South African politics: ‘In a free election in South Africa, the now outlawed African National Congress could possibly win three fourths of the black votes as well as some white votes’.2 This chapter is, however, not about the ANC but about the impact of its legacy, the politics of the extra-parliamentary opposition. In a way, it is a politics different from that of the ANC because even though the extra-parliamentary opposition has drawn its strength and ideology mainly from the ANC, it is not the ANC. This chapter examines the extra-parliamentary opposition prior to the unbanning of the ANC and explores further the significance of this force in the struggle for political power in a future South Africa.KeywordsBlack VoteConsumer BoycottHoly GhostBlack ConsciousnessUnited Democratic FrontThese 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.