Any Color of the Rainbow—As Long as It's Gray: Dramatic Learning Spaces in Postapartheid South Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Prentki
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
World Order ◽  
African Politics ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Cultural Intervention ◽  
Theatre For Development ◽  
South African Politics ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Current Practices

Abstract:This article addresses the issue of the relationship between contemporary South African politics and the type of socially committed theater that might be capable of mounting a critique of those politics. The author highlights the contradictions between the aspirations of the Freedom Charter and the realities of subscribing to the neoliberal world order. His contention is that any theater form that is seeking cultural intervention must find a way of representing contradiction if it is to remain true to the experiences of its audiences and its participants. Such a representation can be achieved through a combination of Bertolt Brecht's praxis in relation to contradiction and current practices in Theatre for Development, which themselves draw upon aspects of the antiapartheid resistance theater.

‘MACMILLAN, VERWOERD, AND THE 1960 ‘WIND OF CHANGE’ SPEECH

2011 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 1087-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAUL DUBOW
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
African Politics ◽  
South African Politics ◽  
Novel Reading

ABSTRACTJust over fifty years ago, Prime Minister Macmillan made an extensive tour of Africa, culminating in his ‘wind of change’ speech in Cape Town, 1960. This article traces Macmillan's progress through Africa with particular emphasis on his intervention in South African politics. It offers a novel reading of the ‘wind of change’ speech, arguing that the message was far more conciliatory with respect to white South African interests than is usually assumed. Pragmatism rather than principle was always the prime consideration. Far from being cowed by Macmillan's oratory or his message, Verwoerd stood up to Macmillan and, at least in the eyes of his supporters, gave as good as he got. The shock of the ‘wind of change’ speech was more evident in Britain and in British settler regions of Africa than in South Africa. Macmillan's advisers had an inflated view of the import of the speech and in many ways misread Verwoerd's brand of Afrikaner nationalism. One of the consequences of the speech was to embolden Verwoerd politically, and to prepare him for the declaration of republican status in 1961 and departure from the commonwealth.

Protest Marches in South Africa

1990 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. du Pisani ◽  
M. Broodryk ◽  
P. W. Coetzer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
New South ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
African Politics ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Visible Symptom ◽  
South African Politics ◽  
Annus Mirabilis

The year 1989 will in future generations be known as the annus mirabilis, not only as far as developments in Eastern Europe are concerned, but also within the context of South African politics. The September general elections for the tricameral Parliament marked a turning point in the direction of governmental policies. Nowhere has the changing mood been more clearly demonstrated than in the streets of the cities and towns. A countrywide spate of protest marches has occurred since the historic first government-approved peaceful anti-apartheid march in Cape Town on 13 September 1989, and these have become the most visible symptom of the advance to the so-called ‘new South Africa’.

Democratic Innovation: South Africa in Comparative Context

1993 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Internal Structure ◽  
South African ◽  
Review Essay ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
African Politics ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
South African Politics

This review essay of four recent books on democratic transitions is written from the standpoint of contemporary South African politics. Each of the books takes the Schumpetarian model of democratic politics for granted, and in the course of evaluating them the author explores the advantages and limitations of that model for thinking about the prospects for democracy in South Africa. He concludes that the Schumpeterian model diverts attention from questions that should concern promoters of democracy. The most important such questions deal with the internal structure of political parties, public organizations, and civil institutions.

The Far Right in Current South African Politics

1991 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M. Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Divine Providence ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
African Politics ◽  
Far Right ◽  
South African Politics

Afrikaner consciousness and identification have a tradition of very clear ethnic roots. Derived from a common ancestral stock that gives biological, historical, and linguistic characteristics to their identity, Afrikaners also share a Protestant religion tradition, with a major theme of Calvinistic predestination and being in South Africa due to divine providence. While opposing parties may vie for their support, the sentiment of favouring Afrikaners and whites – in that order – is shared by all.

The Politics of Security: South Africa under Verwoerd, 1961–6

1969 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Newell M. Stulitz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
African Politics ◽  
The Creation ◽  
South African Politics ◽  
The Republic

This article suggests that a ‘politics of security’ characterised white South Africa from 1961 to at least the time of the death of Prime Minister H. F. Verwoerd in 1966. It is still too early to know whether under Dr Verwoerd's successor, B. J. Vorster, South African politics will assume another character, although at the end of the article I will suggest that change is unlikely. I wish to argue, however, that over the last five years of the Verwoerd premiership politics in South Africa was qualitatively different from that which existed before the creation of the Republic in 1961.

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