| Review of: | Globalization, negotiation and the failure of transformation in South Africa: revolution at a bargain? by Michael H. Allen |
|---|---|
| Reviewed By: | Stephen Hurt |
| Reviewed in: | International Affairs |
| Date accepted online: | 10/04/2008 |
| Published in print: | Volume 83, Issue 06, Pages 1193-1234 |
Book Reviews: Sub-Saharan Africa
The transition to democracy in South Africa has often been labelled as a 'miracle'. Michael Allen's book adds to a growing number of analyses arguing instead that the negotiated nature of the revolution, while being far from violence-free, should be understood in terms of structural changes within the global political economy. In particular, Allen focuses on the influence of the global mode of production and financial markets on South Africa's transition. He convincingly argues that both the apartheid system, which was predicated on mineral exports and an import substitution approach, and the approach of the liberation movement had to be revised in line with demands to pursue the liberalization of markets. The book seeks to assess, given the constraints of globalization, what options were available to the new African National Congress (ANC)-led government and what sort of emancipatory politics could be possible. The impact of globalization on nation-building and justice for women in South Africa are also considered.
Chapter 2 of the book lays out the theoretical framework employed by Allen. A critical political economy approach is developed that attempts to add both ethnic and gender dimensions to the material explanations of conflict and social change. Allen argues that 'dialectics of class, market, ethnicity and gender are interlocking' (p. 25). The rest of the chapters in Part I then address in detail three key aspects of the period of transition, which is traced back to the mid-1980s before the formal talks began. First, the negotiations between the apartheid government and the commercial banks that began in 1985 after the National Party had implemented a moratorium on its debt repayments. Second, the internal debates between the tripartite alliance, which includes the ANC, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party. Here he highlights how the alliance moved away from the socialist ideas that had for years inspired much of the liberation movement in South Africa. Third, the formal political negotiations are assessed, against the background of political violence and the constraining forces of globalization, discussed in previous chapters.
Part II of the book then focuses on the first few years of the post-apartheid era. My impression is that these chapters appear to have been researched much later than the rest of the book, which is based on primary and secondary research carried out in the early 1990s. The post-apartheid constraints on the emancipation of women and the movement away from the corporatist compromises made in the transition are given rather cursory attention. Allen's assessment of progressive politics here appears to be limited to the tripartite alliance. Other social forces are not considered until the concluding chapter where Allen argues that 'COSATU should initiate serious dialogue with civic organizations in the informal sector, women's organizations, and subsistence farming communities' (p. 191).
In sum, this book provides a sophisticated and detailed account of the period 1985-94. The domestic negotiations are correctly placed within the context of the significant external challenges faced by South Africa. However, readers looking for a detailed account of the post-apartheid years will only find some more tentative thoughts on how globalization continued to influence the direction of the democratic transition during the first five years of majority rule. Since 1999, when Thabo Mbeki was elected as president, many significant developments have occurred. It may well be that issues such as black economic empowerment, land reform and the HIV/AIDS pandemic would tend to confirm the trajectory outlined by Allen's book, but it is a shame that more up-to-date research was not included.