DOCSLIB.ORG

Reclaiming the Spatial Imaginary: a Photovoice Study of Resistance to Displacement in Woodstock, Cape Town

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reclaiming the Spatial Imaginary: a Photovoice Study of Resistance to Displacement in Woodstock, Cape Town i Reclaiming the Spatial Imaginary: A Photovoice Study of Resistance to Displacement in Woodstock, Cape Town Ruth Urson URSRUT001 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Arts (MA) in Psychological Research Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town February 2019 Compulsory Declaration This work has notUniversity been previously submitted of in whole, Cape or in part, forTown the award of any other degree. It is my own work. Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this dissertation from the work, or works, of other people has been attributed, and has been cited and referenced. Signature: Date: 5 February 2019 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University ii Acknowledgements I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my supervisors, Associate Professor Shose Kessi and Dr Shari Daya, for their supervision, assistance, and guidance in conducting this study and writing this dissertation. To Zach, Jared, Nkosikhona, Maxine, Ntombi, and the rest of the team at Ndifuna Ukwazi, thank you for supporting this project and assisting in planning and putting together the exhibitions. To my partner, my family, and my friends, thank you for bearing with me and being constant sources of support and encouragement throughout this challenging project. A special thanks to members of the UCT Hub for Decolonial Feminist Psychologies in Africa, for opening spaces for discussions that contributed to the development of this dissertation. Importantly, thank you to the participants in this project for your courage and enthusiasm in sharing your stories and photographs, and for undertaking the large time commitment this required. Thank you also to Reclaim the City for allowing me to join and participate in the movement’s activities. iii Abstract Present-day South Africa is still characterised by colonial- and apartheid-era patterns of urban displacement that are exacerbated by gentrification. Low-income tenants’ and evictees’ experiences of displacement and its resistance have social, spatial, psychological, and political components. Examining these components can contribute to understanding the processes and impacts of gentrification. Reclaim the City (RTC) is a young grassroots campaign that resists evictions and demands well-located affordable housing in Cape Town through protest, education, and occupation. This study investigated how RTC activists experience and resist their displacement from the gentrifying suburb of Woodstock in Cape Town. Using a critical psychological framework, data from photovoice, participant observation, and key informant interviews were collected in 2018, triangulated, and analysed using thematic analysis. This study found that participants’ experiences of displacement were characterised by being “thingified” as black low-income tenants through mistreatment by landlords, displacement from centres to peripheries, becoming invisible residents, and internalisation. This was compounded for those with intersectional vulnerabilities, such as women and African migrants. Such experiences uphold rather than contradict an apartheid spatial imaginary, encompassing the continuation of apartheid-era norms relating to psychological, spatial, and social elements of displacement into the present. While sometimes delegitimised for their illegal activities, this study illustrates how RTC activists combined strategies of building new identities, organising legal and illegal resistance to displacement, and making meaning of their occupation of a vacant building in Woodstock, to pave the way for new spatial imaginaries. Implications of these findings are discussed. vi Table of Contents Compulsory Declaration .......................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ................................................................................................................................... iii Chapter One: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Representation and Power in the Colonial Era ........................................................ 1 1.2 Spatial Apartheid ..................................................................................................... 2 1.3 “Forced Removals” in the New South Africa .......................................................... 3 1.3.1 Neoliberal urban renewal and privatisation. ................................................. 4 1.3.2 Gentrification. ............................................................................................... 5 1.4 The Case of Woodstock ........................................................................................... 5 1.5 Reclaim the City ...................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Outline of Thesis ...................................................................................................... 9 Chapter Two: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 10 2.1 Place and Displacement ......................................................................................... 10 2.2 Place Identity, Representation, and Belonging ...................................................... 11 2.3 Qualitative Experiences of Displacement .............................................................. 13 2.4 Resistance to Displacement ................................................................................... 15 2.5 Rationale for Study ................................................................................................ 20 2.6 Aims and Research Questions ............................................................................... 21 2.6.1 Research questions. ..................................................................................... 21 Chapter Three: Research Design and Methodology .......................................................... 23 3.1 Reclaim the City’s Structure .................................................................................. 23 3.2 Theoretical Framework: Critical Psychology ........................................................ 24 3.2.1 Power and subjectivity. ............................................................................... 25 3.2.2 Place and identity. ....................................................................................... 25 vi 3.2.3 Liberation psychology and critical consciousness. ..................................... 26 3.3 Research Design..................................................................................................... 27 3.3.1 Photovoice................................................................................................... 28 3.3.2 Participant observation................................................................................ 30 3.3.3 Key informant interviews. .......................................................................... 31 3.4 Participants ............................................................................................................. 32 3.4.1 Photovoice................................................................................................... 32 3.4.2 Key informant interviews. .......................................................................... 33 3.5 Data Collection Procedure ..................................................................................... 34 3.5.1 Participant observation................................................................................ 34 3.5.2 Photovoice................................................................................................... 35 3.5.3 Key informant interviews. .......................................................................... 40 3.6 Thematic Analysis ................................................................................................. 40 3.7 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................... 41 3.7.1 Informed consent. ....................................................................................... 41 3.7.2 Privacy and confidentiality. ........................................................................ 41 3.7.3 Ethical issues related to secondary participants. ......................................... 42 3.7.4 Risks and benefits. ...................................................................................... 42 3.7.5 Expanding notions of ethics. ....................................................................... 42 3.8 Reflexivity.............................................................................................................. 43 Chapter Four: Experiences of Displacement in Woodstock .............................................. 46 4.1 The “Thingification” of People .............................................................................. 47 4.1.1 Mistreatment by landlords.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Suppression of Communism, the Dutch Reformed Church, and the Instrumentality of Fear During Apartheid
    THE SUPPRESSION OF COMMUNISM, THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH, AND THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF FEAR DURING APARTHEID. SAMUEL LONGFORD: 3419365 SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR PARTICIA HAYES i A mini-thesis submitted for the degree of MA in History University of the Western Cape November 2016. Supervisor: Professor Patricia Hayes DECLARATION I declare that The Suppression of Communism, the Dutch Reformed Church, and the Instrumentality of Fear during apartheid is my own work and has not been submitted for any degree or examination in any other university. All the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by complete references. NAME: Samuel Longford: 3419365 DATE: 11/11/2016. Signed: ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. This mini-thesis has been carried out in concurrence with a M.A. Fellowship at the Centre for Humanities Research (CHR), University of the Western Cape (UWC). I acknowledge and thank the CHR for providing the funding that made this research possible. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the CHR. Great thanks and acknowledgement also goes to my supervisor, Prof Patricia Hayes, who guided me through the complicated issues surrounding this subject matter, my partner Charlene, who put up with the late nights and uneventful weekends, and various others who contributed to the workings and re-workings of this mini-thesis. iii The experience of what we have of our lives from within, the story that we tell ourselves about ourselves in order to account for what we are doing, is fundamentally a lie – the truth lies outside, in what we do.1 1 Slavoj Zizek¸ Violence: Six Sideways Reflections (London: Profile Books, 2008): 40.
    [Show full text]
  • Initiating, Planning and Managing Coalitions
    INITIATING, PLANNING AND MANAGING COALITIONS AN AFRICAN LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE HANDBOOK INITIATING, PLANNING AND MANAGING COALITIONS CONTRIBUTORS Gilles Bassindikila Justin Nzoloufoua Lucrèce Nguedi Leon Schreiber Solly Msimanga Helen Zille Lotfi Amine Hachemi Assoumane Kamal Soulé Madonna Kumbu Kumbel Serge Mvukulu Bweya-Nkiama Tolerance Itumeleng Lucky Daniel Tshireletso Maître Boutaina Benmallam Richard Nii Amarh Nana Ofori Owusu Mutale Nalumango Dr Choolwe Beyani PUBLICATION COORDINATOR Nangamso Kwinana TRANSLATION Mathieu Burnier & Marvin Mncwabe at LoluLwazi Business Support DESIGN Vernon Kallis at LoluLwazi Business Support EDITORS Iain Gill Gijs Houben Martine Van Schoor Daniëlle Brouwer Masechaba Mdaka Nangamso Kwinana For further information and distribution Africa Liberal Network 3rd Floor Travel House, 6 Hood Avenue Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196 The Republic of South Africa Direct: +27 87 806 2676 Telephone: +27 11 880 8851 Mobile: +27 73 707 8513 CONTRIBUTORS [email protected] www.africaliberalnetwork.org 2 3 INITIATING, PLANNING AND MANAGING COALITIONS AN AFRICAN LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE HANDBOOK A Word from our President 4 CONTENTS 5 Our Executive Committee 7 About the Author 8 Introduction 10 Methodology 12 Foreward 15 In Memoriam 16 Initiating - The Pre-Election Phase 30 Planning - Pre-Coalition Phase 38 Managing - The Governing Phase 3 INITIATING, PLANNING AND MANAGING COALITIONS Dear reader, We are delighted and proud to share with you, this publication relating to initiating, planning and managing coalitions.
    [Show full text]
  • Sitting(Link Is External)
    1 THURSDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2016 The House met at 14:15. The Speaker took the Chair and read the prayer. ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLING AND COMMITTEE REPORTS - see p The SPEAKER: Order! Before we proceed I would like to make the following announcements as a reminder about the logistical arrangements. To enable a member to talk, push the “talk button” on the microphone speaker unit fitted on the desk. There is one unit for every two to three members to share. Members speaking need not move to a microphone. The system is strong enough to pick up sound from your allocated seat. Members seated in close proximity of a speaker on the floor must therefore be aware that any loud conversation may interfere with the recording of the speaker’s speech. In order to select your language of choice please press the “channel button” on your wireless receiver to select the correct channel. Channel 1 is English; channel 2 is Afrikaans and channel 3 is isiXhosa. The right side of the unit control is for volume control. 2 There will be tea and coffee available to members in the lobby and then finally, members who want to leave the Chamber must leave at the entrance at the back of the Chamber. The ablution facilities are to my right in the adjoining passage and the service officers are seated at the back by the entrance of the Chamber. There are no telephone facilities. Members must therefore make use of their cellphones outside of the Chamber. Proceedings will be relayed to the normal television screens in the Provincial Parliament Building.
    [Show full text]
  • IP: 66.249.64.241 Maarten Rens Filmt De African Jazz Pioneers
    64 Maarten Rens filmt de African Jazz Pioneers tijdens het slotfeest van de Anti-Apartheids Beweging Nederland (oktober 1994). Bron: Pieter Boersma © Guest (guest) IP: 170.106.34.90 On: Sun, 03 Oct 2021 11:36:31 65 Getuigen van (anti-)Apartheid. De camera als verbindend element tussen Nederland en Zuid-Afrika Barbara Henkes In dit artikel wordt onderzocht hoe de politiek van Apart- de, samen met nog zo’n 23.000 Nederlanders die tussen 1946-1955 naar Zuid-Afrika ver- heid zich manifesteerde in de netwerken die Nederland met trokken.2 Eén van hun drie dochters en haar man volgden enkele jaren later. Hun kinde- Zuid-Afrika verbonden. Het gaat over de overdracht van ren groeiden op in Pretoria, terwijl de kinde- ren van de twee achtergebleven dochters in verhalen, beelden, ideeën en politieke praktijken binnen een Nederland volwassen werden. Beide neven kenden elkaar al van geregelde familiereü- transnationaal verwantschapsnetwerk. Om deze dynamiek nies in Nederland voordat Maarten in 1967 voor het eerst een bezoek bracht aan zijn ver- te traceren, maak ik gebruik van filmmateriaal van een Ne- wanten in Zuid-Afrika. Nadien volgde hij de filmacademie in Amsterdam en werkte als derlandse documentairemaker, in het bijzonder de opnames freelance documentairemaker, voordat hij in 1981 voor de tweede keer naar Zuid-Afrika waarin zijn goed ingeburgerde verwanten uit Zuid-Afrika afreisde om een film te maken over zijn fa- milie in het land van Apartheid. Geert:‘Wij een rol spelen. Dan wordt duidelijk op welke uiteenlopende dachten dat het een hele leuke film zou worden, maar hij heeft ons eigenlijk gebruikt.
    [Show full text]
  • 2001 Lecture
    THE JAMES BACKHOUSE LECTURE 2001 RECONCILING OPPOSITES: REFLECTIONS ON PEACEMAKING IN SOUTH AFRICA Hendrik W van der Merwe The James Backhouse Lectures The lectures were instituted by Australia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) on the its establishment of that Yearly Meeting in 1964. James Backhouse and his companion, George Washington Walker were English Friends who visited Australia from 1832 to 1838. They travelled widely, but spent most of their time in Tasmania. It was through their visit that Quaker Meetings were first established in Australia. Coming to Australia under a concern for the conditions of convicts, the two men had access to people with authority in the young colonies, and with influence in Britain, both in Parliament and in the social reform movement. In meticulous reports and personal letters, they made practical suggestions and urged legislative action on penal reform, on the rum trade, and on land rights and the treatment of Aborigines. James Backhouse was a general naturalist and a botanist. He made careful observations and published full accounts of what he saw, in addition to encouraging Friends in the colonies and following the deep concern that had brought him to Australia. Australian Friends hope that this series of Lectures will bring fresh insights into the Truth, and speak to the needs and aspirations of Australian Quakerism. This particular lecture was delivered in Melbourne on 8 January 2001, during the annual meeting of the Society. Colin Wendell-Smith Presiding Clerk Australia Yearly Meeting © Copyright 2001 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Incorporated.
    [Show full text]
  • 6Th Consecutive Clean Audit Award
    MARCH 2018 6th Consecutive Clean Audit Award Mossel Bay Municipality was officially awarded its sixth consecutive clean audit accolade at a special awards ceremony hosted by the Western Cape Government in Cape Town recently. The Municipality has in fact followed the correct processes and transparency and accountability were observed, therefore good management is maintained. Pictured, from the left, are: Western Cape Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister, Anton Bredell, Mossel Bay Municipal Manager, Adv Thys Giliomee, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, Mossel Bay Executive Mayor, Alderman Harry Levendal, Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu, Councillor Marie de Klerk and Minister of Finance in the Western Cape, Dr Ivan Meyer. Tourism is everybody’s business! NOTICE OF ROADWORKS The importance of tourism is like a stone dropped in DUE TO UPGRADE OF R102 water. The widening ripples have the same effect that Motorists in the greater tourism expenditure has on a town’s economy. Mossel Bay and surround- A visiting traveller eats in a restaurant, buys art in a ing areas should take note of gallery, stays in a guesthouse or cruises on a yacht in the road works taking place the bay. The tourism money is then spent by the local at Main Road 344 (R102) between business owner in other businesses in town: he supports the local super- Hartenbos and Great Brak River and the market and liquor store when he buys stock, buys a vehicle and supports DR1578 road between Wolwedans and the local hardware store when he does maintenance. These businesses in turn employ people who on their turn support the town’s businesses and so Tergniet, which will be affected by road and the ripple gets wider and larger – all with money the tourist originally spent.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal for Contemporary History 34(2)
    OP WEG NA DIE POLITIEKE DRAAIPUNT VAN 1948: DRIE EEUE VAN VREES AS FAKTOR IN DIE GESKIEDENIS VAN SUID-AFRIKA Derek du Bruyn1 en André Wessels2 Abstract The desire to safeguard themselves, and the aims of preserving and protecting an own identity, are central themes in the history of the Afrikaner. There is no doubt that the concomitant fear in white ranks is firmly rooted in history. Fear of both racial and political domination has had a permanent impact on the psyche of the Afrikaner, even before he had become aware of himself as a separate nation. It was the fear of the growing threat of a numerically superior indigenous black population in particular that would become an independent variable, not only in Afrikaner politics, but also in the broader context of white politics. The source of fear for Afrikaners in particular changed as time passed – from a fear of Anglicisation by the British to a fear of equality and mixing with blacks. The “right-wing line”, as well as the “fear line”, has been motivated, stimulated, or at least influenced by historical events and tendencies which strengthened white fears in some way or other, and as a result fostered right-wing sentiments. This study makes clear that fear as a political instrument may be manipulated to achieve specific political objectives. 1. INLEIDING In 1969 het die Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP) as Suid-Afrika se eerste vol- waardige regse politieke party tot stand gekom, nadat daar geruime tyd woelinge binne die Nasionale Party (NP) was. Hierdie onrustigheid binne die NP, wat as die sogenaamde “verlig-verkrampstryd” tipeer is,3 met die regse elemente binne die NP wat as die sogenaamde “verkramptes” geëtiketteer is, het met verloop van tyd tot ’n breuk in die NP gelei.
    [Show full text]
  • Fighting Talk, Vol. 13, No. 7, Sept. 1959
    Fighting talk, Vol. 13, No. 7, Sept. 1959 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org/. Page 1 of 22 Alternative title Fighting talk Author/Creator Fighting Talk Committee (Johannesburg) Contributor First, Ruth Publisher Fighting Talk Committee (Johannesburg) Date 1959-09 Resource type Newspapers Language Afrikaans, English Coverage (spatial) South Africa Coverage (temporal) 1959 Source Digital Imaging South Africa (DISA) Rights By kind permission of the Fighting Talk Committee. Description South Africa: The Inside Story of the Natal Women's Protests, by Joe Matthews. "Women in the Freedom Struggle", by Chief Lutuli. Treason a la mode de Pretoria. The United Party Split and the Progressives, by S.
    [Show full text]
  • Colin Eglin, the Progressive Federal Party and the Leadership of the Official Parliamentary Opposition, 1977‑1979 and 1986‑1987
    Journal for Contemporary History 40(1) / Joernaal vir Eietydse Geskiedenis 40(1): 1‑22 © UV/UFS • ISSN 0285‑2422 “ONE OF THE ARCHITECTS OF OUR DEMOCRACY”: COLIN EGLIN, THE PROGRESSIVE FEDERAL PARTY AND THE LEADERSHIP OF THE OFFICIAL PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION, 1977‑1979 AND 1986‑1987 FA Mouton1 Abstract The political career of Colin Eglin, leader of the Progressive Federal Party (PFP) and the official parliamentary opposition between 1977‑1979 and 1986‑1987, is proof that personality matters in politics and can make a difference. Without his driving will and dogged commitment to the principles of liberalism, especially his willingness to fight on when all seemed lost for liberalism in the apartheid state, the Progressive Party would have floundered. He led the Progressives out of the political wilderness in 1974, turned the PFP into the official opposition in 1977, and picked up the pieces after Frederik van Zyl Slabbert’s dramatic resignation as party leader in February 1986. As leader of the parliamentary opposition, despite the hounding of the National Party, he kept liberal democratic values alive, especially the ideal of incremental political change. Nelson Mandela described him as, “one of the architects of our democracy”. Keywords: Colin Eglin; Progressive Party; Progressive Federal Party; liberalism; apartheid; National Party; Frederik van Zyl Slabbert; leader of the official parliamentary opposition. Sleutelwoorde: Colin Eglin; Progressiewe Party; Progressiewe Federale Party; liberalisme; apartheid; Nasionale Party; Frederik van Zyl Slabbert; leier van die amptelike parlementêre opposisie. 1. INTRODUCTION The National Party (NP) dominated parliamentary politics in the apartheid state as it convinced the majority of the white electorate that apartheid, despite the destruction of the rule of law, was a just and moral policy – a final solution for the racial situation in the country.
    [Show full text]
  • Structural Barriers to Treatment for Pregnant Coloured Women Abusing TIK in Cape Town: the Experiences of Healthcare Providers
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Stellenbosch University SUNScholar Repository Structural barriers to treatment for pregnant Coloured women abusing TIK in Cape Town: The experiences of healthcare providers by Jodi Bronwyn Nagel Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts and Social Sciences (Psychology) at Stellenbosch University. Supervisor: Dr Chrisma Pretorius March 2017 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za i STRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO TREATMENT Declaration By electronically submitting this thesis, I declare that content therein, it its entirety, is my own, original work and that I have full authorship and ownership thereof. I have not previously submitted this work, in part or in entirety, for the obtaining of any qualification. March 2017 Signature Date Copyright © 2017 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za ii STRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO TREATMENT Abstract Despite interventions that aim to address the barriers to healthcare treatment for pregnant Coloured women abusing TIK in Cape Town, the rate of accessing substance abuse treatment and maternal care amongst this population remains dismally low. Recent literature has given attention to highlighting the structural barriers to treatment as experienced from the perspective of pregnant Coloured women; however, little, if any, research has been conducted on these barriers from the healthcare providers’ perspective. The present study thus aimed to identify the structural treatment barriers experienced by healthcare providers who treat pregnant Coloured women who abuse TIK. An exploratory qualitative design was utilised whereby 20 healthcare providers were identified through purposive sampling and subsequently interviewed.
    [Show full text]
  • Stephen Bantu Biko: an Agent of Change in South Africa’S Socio-Politico-Religious Landscape
    HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422 Page 1 of 9 Original Research Stephen Bantu Biko: An agent of change in South Africa’s socio-politico-religious landscape Author: This article examines and analyses Biko’s contribution to the liberation struggle in 1 Ramathate T.H. Dolamo South Africa from the perspective of politics and religion. Through his leading participation Affiliation: in Black Consciousness Movement and Black Theology Project, Biko has not only influenced 1Department of Philosophy, the direction of the liberation agenda, but he has also left a legacy that if the liberated and Practical and Systematic democratic South Africa were to follow, this country would be a much better place for all to Theology, University of live in. In fact, the continent as a whole through its endeavours in the African Union South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa underpinned by the African Renaissance philosophy would go a long way in forging unity among the continent’s nation states. Biko’s legacy covers among other things identity, Corresponding author: human dignity, education, research, health and job creation. This article will have far Ramathate Dolamo, reaching implications for the relations between the democratic state and the church in [email protected] South Africa, more so that there has been such a lack of the church’s prophecy for the past Dates: 25 years. Received: 12 Feb. 2019 Accepted: 22 May 2019 Keywords: Liberation; Black consciousness; Black theology; Self-reliance; Identity; Culture; Published: 29 July 2019 Religion; Human dignity. How to cite this article: Dolamo, R.T.H., 2019, ‘Stephen Bantu Biko: An Orientation agent of change in South Biko was born in Ginsberg near King William’s Town on 18 December 1946.
    [Show full text]
  • Abstract This Paper Explores the Under-Appreciated Role of Business
    Business and the South African Transition Itumeleng Makgetla and Ian Shapiro Draft: February 20, 2016 Abstract This paper explores the under-appreciated role of business in negotiated transitions to democracy. Drawing on our interviews of key South African business leaders and political elites, we show how business played a vital role in enabling politicians to break out of the prisoners’ dilemma in which they had been trapped since the 1960s and move the country toward the democratic transition that took place in 1994. Business leaders were uniquely positioned to play this role, but it was not easy because they were internally divided and deeply implicated in Apartheid’s injustices. We explain how they overcame these challenges, how they facilitated negotiations, and how they helped keep them back on track when the going got rough. We also look at business in other transitional settings, drawing on South Africa’s experience to illuminate why business efforts to play a comparable role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have failed. We end by drawing out the implications of our findings for debates about democratic transitions and the role of business interests in them. Department of Political Science, P.O. Box 208301, New Haven, CT 06520-830. Phone:(203) 432-3415; Fax: (203): 432- 93-83. Email: [email protected] or [email protected] On March 21, 1960, police opened fire on a demonstration against South Africa’s pass laws in Sharpeville, fifty miles south of Johannesburg, killing 69 people. The callousness of the massacre – many victims were shot in the back while fleeing – triggered a major escalation in the conflict between the African National Congress (ANC) and the National Party (NP) government.
    [Show full text]