Nation-building in South Africa : Mandela and Mbeki compared

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with nation-building in South Africa since 1994 with a view tofinding out the direction taken by nation-building since then. This issue has been andit still is a controversial issue in South Africa.The new dispensation in South Africa occasioned a need for the creation of newnational institutions, leaders and policies for the nation. Hence, an inclusive/liberalnation-building programme was put in place. Since 1994 this programme has beencarried out by two presidents, namely former president Mandela (1994-1999) andPresident Mbeki (1999-2002+) respectively.Nevertheless, these two leaders do not only subscribe to different philosophies butalso have two divergent approaches to nation-building. Although they are bothindividualists, Mandela is Charterist whereas Mbeki is an Africanist. Moreover,Mandela promoted nation-building through reconciliation and corporatism. Mbeki'sapproach to nation-building, on the contrary, emphasises transformation andempowerment through the market.These approaches seem contradictory and thus mutually exclusive. This does notaugur weU for fragile democracy of South Africa. Therefore, an attempt will be madeto find out whether this is true and thus finding out the direction taken by nationbuilding.This will be done by comparing the Mandela and Mbeki approaches tonation-building.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University