Negotiating Identity in Post-Settlement South Africa

Abstract

This chapter focuses on some issues related to the challenges of nation-building in South Africa. It provides an overview of the African National Conference's (ANC) shifting position on the national question, paying particular attention to the ANC's stance before and after its unbanning in 1990. The chapter examines the challenges Zulu nationalism poses to the new political order in South Africa and the politics of ethno-nationalism among the Indian community. The ANC conceded to the potential power of ethnic mobilization around Zulu identity. The symbolic "Africanization" of the ANC, as exemplified in its overtures to the Zulus, has made it difficult for the ANC to gain the support of Indians, many of whom fear African political and cultural domination in a post-settlement era. The chapter highlights the dual challenge South Africa faces: overcoming socioeconomic inequality and building a collective sense of nationhood.