Anti-Apartheid and the Emergence of a Global Civil Society Håkan Thörn 1403_939373_01_preiv.qxd 25/1/06 9:28 PM Page i St Antony’s Series General Editor: Jan Zielonka (2004–), Fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford Recent titles include: Håkan Thörn ANTI-APARTHEID AND THE EMERGENCE OF A GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY Lotte Hughes MOVING THE MAASAI A Colonial Misadventure Fiona Macaulay GENDER POLITICS IN BRAZIL AND CHILE The Role of Parties in National and Local Policymaking Stephen Whitefield (editor) POLITICAL CULTURE AND POST-COMMUNISM José Esteban Castro WATER, POWER AND CITIZENSHIP Social Struggle in the Basin of Mexico Valpy FitzGerald and Rosemary Thorp (editors) ECONOMIC DOCTRINES IN LATIN AMERICA Orgins, Embedding and Evolution Victoria D. 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Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England 1403_939373_01_preiv.qxd 25/1/06 9:28 PM Page iii Anti-Apartheid and the Emergence of a Global Civil Society Håkan Thörn Department of Sociology Göteborg University 1403_939373_01_preiv.qxd 28/1/06 5:27 PM Page iv © Håkan Thörn 2006 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 13: 978–1–4039–3937–1 hardback ISBN 10: 1–4039–3937–3 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thörn, Håkan. Anti-apartheid and the emergence of a global civil society / Håkan Thörn. p.cm.–– (St. Antony’s series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–3937–3 (cloth) 1. Apartheid – South Africa. 2. Anti-apartheid movements – South Africa. 3. South Africa – Race relations – History – 20th century. 4. Anti-apartheid movements. 5. Civil society. I. Title. II. St. Antony’s series (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm)) DT1757.T49 2006 323.16809Ј04––dc22 2005056621 10987654321 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne 1403_939373_02_prevxiv.qxd 25/1/06 9:31 PM Page v Contents Acknowledgements viii List of Abbreviations x Prologue: Apartheid as a Dark Side of Modernity xiii Introduction: Anti-Apartheid, the Media and ‘New Social Movements’ – Beyond Eurocentrism 1 The long journey 1 Across borders 2 The globalization of politics 4 Anti-apartheid and human rights 5 Anti-apartheid and new social movements 7 Social movements and the mediatization of politics 15 Border thinking 18 Notes on material and method 20 Part I Anti-Apartheid in Global Context 1 Narratives of Transnational Anti-Apartheid Activism 29 Introduction: transnational activists and historical experiences 29 The activist public official 31 The activist priest 33 The exile activist 36 The movement organizer 40 The movement intellectual 43 Conclusion: transnational activism and its contexts 45 2 The Globalization of the Anti-Apartheid Movement 48 Introduction: transnational collective action and globalization 48 Transnationalism and its tensions: liberation movements, solidarity networks and ‘the struggle within the struggle’ 49 ANC, PAC and the armed struggle 50 Sanctions, boycotts and constructive engagement 60 Black Consciousness Movement, the IUEF and ‘Operation Daisy’ 66 v 1403_939373_02_prevxiv.qxd 25/1/06 9:31 PM Page vi vi Contents Naming the movement 68 Political globalization from above 70 Conclusion: anti-apartheid as globalization from below 72 3 National Politics in a Global Context: Anti-Apartheid in Britain and Sweden 73 Introduction: national politics in a global context 73 The legacy of the Empire 75 Nationalism as internationalism 76 The state and other enemies 80 Ambivalent relations: the state as friend and foe 84 The ‘image of respectability’ versus the ‘consensus culture’ of the People’s Home 86 Conflicting agendas 90 The worker’s movement and the legacies of socialism/communism 93 Dealing with diversity 95 Conclusion: radical or respectable? 97 4 The Struggle over Information and Interpretation 99 Introduction: the importance of media and information 99 Apartheid media strategies 101 Media activism and information networks 105 Approaching established media 110 Commitment and journalism: in between movement and media 111 The movement as a stage – protest simulacra and the turn to cultural politics 117 Conclusion: technology and solidarity 122 Part II Public Debates on Apartheid/ Anti-Apartheid in Britain and Sweden 1960–90 5 Beginnings: Sharpeville and the Boycott Debates 127 Introduction: the role of Sharpeville as a media event 127 Boycott News 128 Boycott debates 130 Sharpeville in the news: ‘learning the lesson the hard way’ 134 ‘To civilize the African’ 137 Conclusion: framing the struggle 140 1403_939373_02_prevxiv.qxd 25/1/06 9:31 PM Page vii Contents vii 6 Sports as Politics: The Battle of Båstad and ‘Stop the 70s Tour’ 142 Introduction: student activism and sports as politics 142 May 1968: the Battle in Båstad 143 Stop the 70s Tour 147 The quest for order 151 Conclusion: direct action versus ‘law and order’ 156 7 ‘A New Black Militancy’ – Before and after the Soweto Uprising 158 Introduction: Tutu’s ‘nightmarish fear’ 158 ‘A new black militancy’ 161 Soweto in the media: ‘It’s no good firing over their heads’ 163 ‘An insupportable tyranny’ 168 Conclusion: increasing polarization 170 8 Sharpeville Revisited and the Release of Nelson Mandela 174 The ‘total strategy’ and the rise of the UDF 174 ‘Take your bloody money and go’ 177 Langa in the press: ‘an uncanny resemblance of Sharpeville’ 180 ‘Which black opposition?’ 183 The release of Mandela 185 Conclusion: the beginning of the end 189 Conclusion: Anti-Apartheid and the Emergence of a Global Civil Society 192 Not an easy affair 192 Organizing and mobilizing transnational anti-apartheid 195 Mediated interaction and information politics 196 Mobility – travel and exile 199 An imagined community of solidarity activists 200 The emergence of a global civil society 203 The meaning(s) of solidarity 207 Epilogue: The Legacy of Anti-Apartheid 212 Notes 215 References 230 Interviews 240 Index 242 1403_939373_02_prevxiv.qxd 25/1/06 9:31 PM Page viii Acknowledgements This book, and the research project on which it is based, would not have been possible without the assistance of a number of generous people. I would like to thank my wife, Catharina Thörn, for continu- ing support, intellectual discussion and comments on the final man- uscript. The support of William Beinart has also been crucial for the project and the book. My stay at St Antony’s College, Oxford in 2003, which made it possible to engage in a number of stimulating semi- nars and discussions with William and others, provided an important starting point for the writing process. Thanks also to Robert J. C. Young for stimulating discussions on new social movements and postcolonialism. At an early stage discussions and seminars with a small group of people in London and Sussex, including Saul Dubow, Shula Marks, James Sanders, David Rhodes and Rob Skinner, were also important.