BEYOND ALIENATION AND ANOMIE: THE EMANCIPATORY EFFICACY OF LIBERATION IDEOLOGIES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

The Soweto revolt of 1976 was mounted by black students in South Africa mobilized under the banner of the Black Consciousness (BC) ideology. However, when thousands of these youths were driven into exile by state repression, they joined the African National Congress (ANC) or its military wing. When hundreds of them returned as guerrillas after 1978, some were arrested and tried, while others were involved in spectacular shootouts with the police. The resulting press coverage began to revive ANC ideology in popular consciousness. With further publicity in 1980 from a Free Mandela campaign, and from luridly successful sabotage attacks, popular support for the ANC soared, shaping political events for the rest of the decade. The only other noteworthy tendency among blacks was the Zulu‐based Inkatha movement led by Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, whose support among young people was slight because of his hostile stance to both BC and the ANC.

Citation

Orkin, M. (1991), "BEYOND ALIENATION AND ANOMIE: THE EMANCIPATORY EFFICACY OF LIBERATION IDEOLOGIES IN SOUTH AFRICA", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 11 No. 6/7/8, pp. 195-211. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb013154