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  2. The Black and White Rainbow: Reconciliation, Opposition, and Nation-Building in Democratic South Africa

The Black and White Rainbow: Reconciliation, Opposition, and Nation-Building in Democratic South Africa

Carolyn E. Holmes 2020
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Nation-building imperatives compel citizens to focus on what makes them similar and what binds them together, forgetting what makes them different. Democratic institution building, on the other hand, requires fostering opposition through conducting multiparty elections and encouraging debate. Leaders of democratic factions, like parties or interest groups, can consolidate their power by emphasizing difference. But when held in tension, these two impulses—toward remembering difference and forgetting it, between focusing on unity and encouraging division—are mutually constitutive of sustainable democracy.

​Based on ethnographic and interview-based fieldwork conducted in 2012–13, The Black and White Rainbow: Reconciliation, Opposition, and Nation-Building in Democratic South Africa explores various themes of nation- and democracy-building, including the emotional and banal content of symbols of the post-apartheid state, the ways that gender and race condition nascent nationalism, the public performance of nationalism and other group-based identities, integration and sharing of space, language diversity, and the role of democratic functioning including party politics and modes of opposition. Each of these thematic chapters aims to explicate a feature of the multifaceted nature of identity-building, and link the South African case to broader literatures on both nationalism and democracy.

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Series
  • African Perspectives
ISBN(s)
  • 978-0-472-12717-7 (ebook)
  • 978-0-472-05463-3 (paper)
  • 978-0-472-07463-1 (hardcover)
Subject
  • African Studies
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  • Table of Contents

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  • Stats

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Chapter 1. Introduction
  • Chapter 2. South Africa
  • Chapter 3. Reconciliation and Rainbows
  • Chapter 4. Opposition and Party Politics in Democratic South Africa
  • Chapter 5. The Social Logic of Nation-Building
  • Chapter 6. Community Theater
  • Chapter 7. Homes, Farms, Parks, and Walls
  • Chapter 8. The Medium and the Message
  • Chapter 9. Conclusion
  • Appendix
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index

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Political cartoon featuring an old man speaking to a young boy, saying “and then one day, it changed back, and we realized the rainbow was just a temporary illusion.” On the lower left is a sign that reads “The Black and White Nation.” The signature for the artist, Zapiro, is in the lower right corner.

The Black and White Nation

From Chapter 1

Fig. 1. The Black and White Nation, Zapiro, 2000. (© 2012 Zapiro; All Rights Reserved. Used with permission from www.zapiro.com)

The Voortrekker monument in Pretoria is a large tan-colored building. Two stairways lead to the entrance from the right and left side of the building, along which are four carvings of a bull. The middle of the building is decorated with large archway of stone latticework. In front of the building is a statue of a woman with two children.

Voortrekker Monument Hall of Heroes, December 16 2012

From Chapter 6

Fig. 2. Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria.

A photograph with hundreds of maidens lined up at the beginning of the Umkhosi womHlanga parade in front of the Enyokeni Royal Palace. They all are holding long reeds that extend high above their heads.

Maidens waiting at Enyokeni Palace, September 2012

From Chapter 6

Fig. 3. Maidens awaiting the opening of the Enyokeni Palace Gates, September 2012.

An image of a road in the Berea neighborhood of Durban, with security features like electric fences, cameras, contracted security companies, and an in-person guard, each feature framed in black or white boxes or circles.

Typical Road in the Berea, Durban

From Chapter 7

Fig. 4. Typical road in the Berea in Durban, from Google Maps.

A composite map of South Africa, with different proposals for an independent Volkstaat overlaid on one another. Taken together, the proposals account for the majority of the land area that is South Africa.

Map of proposed Volkstaat Locations

From Chapter 7

Fig. 5. Map of possible volkstaat regions, from Final Report of Volkstaatraad, National Party Documents, and three proposals from political groups (Christopher 2001; Jooste 1997). Cross-hatch designs indicate overlapping regions that belong to multiple proposals.

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