Do South Africans Exist?

120 pages. Temps de lecture estimé 1h30min.
Do South Africans Exist? Addresses a gap in contemporary studies of nationalism and the nation, providing a critical study of South African nationalism, against a broader context of African nationalism in general. The author argues that the nation is a politcal community whose form is given in relation to the pursuit of democracy and freedom, and that if democratic authoriy is lodged in 'the people', what matters is the way that this 'people' is defined, delimited and produced.Acknowledgements List of Acronyms Introduction: The Sublime Object of Nationalism Chapter 1: The Nature of African Nationalism Chapter 2: The Democratic Origin of Nations Chapter 3: African Nationalism in South Africa Chapter 4: The South African Nation Chapter 5: The Impossibility of the National Community Chapter 6: The Production of the Public Domain Chapter 7: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Identity of ‘the People’ Conclusion: Notes Towards a Theory of the Democratic Limit Endnotes Bibliography Index