Elite

Cadres, capitalists, elites and coalitions : The ANC, business and development in South Africa

Upphovsperson:	Van Wyk, Jo-Ansie
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	Post-apartheid, political development, Democratization, Political leadership, Elite, political parties, Governance, Economic conditions, South Africa, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa is widely regarded as an exemplary case of an elite political settlement. Moreover, South Africa’s political history in the last two decades can certainly be understood in terms of the way old, new, political and economic elites interacted in different domains and sectors to resolve major collective problems and produce institutional solutions that would work – even if some of these solutions appeared contentious – and cater to broad interests. The political settlement achieved by opposing elites produced a unique democratic pact. However, less attention has been paid to the economic pact achieved by these elites. As a liberation movement, the African National Congress (ANC) advocated nationalisation to undo the socioeconomic legacies of apartheid, but once the political transition had commenced, it discarded nationalisation. Instead, ANC elites opted for pro-business/market policies, which stabilised the economy and attracted much needed foreign direct investment. Their decision was partly attributable to the negotiated political and economic pacts that they concluded with National Party elites and ‘white’ capital. With the political or democratic pact in place, the negotiation and consolidation of the economic pact was achieved with the formation of numerous formal and informal coalitions with first ‘white’ and later ‘black’ capital to undo the economic legacies of apartheid. Not only did the pact result led to a stable political transition, it also in political and economic transformation. More importantly, early signs are now evident of a developmental pact that may result in a successful developmental state capable of achieving equality and equity for all in post-apartheid South Africa.

The Elite as a Critical Factor in National Development : The case of Botswana

Upphovspersoner:	Sebudubudu, David | Molutsi, Patrick
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2011
Ämnesord:	Botswana, Ruling class, Elite, leadership, Governance, Political stability, democracy, Economic performance, Development planning, Economic and social development, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The Discussion Paper provides insightful explanations for Botswana’s emergence as one of Africa’s developmental success stories. It underscores the role of the ruling elite coalition in shaping the particular kind of politics, inclusive policies, consensus, partnerships and vision that have contributed to the emergence of Botswana as a democratic developmental state. This is an important paper that should be read by all those keen to understand how Botswana has managed to avoid the ‘natural resource curse’ and stand out as a model of democratic stability and sustained economic growth in Africa.

The Zimbabwean Nation-State Project : A Historical Diagnosis of Identity and Power-based Conflicts in a Postcolonial State

Upphovsperson:	Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Sabelo J.
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2011
Ämnesord:	Zimbabwe, nationalism, State, Political conflicts, political development, Political leadership, Elite, Ethnicity, National identity, Nation-building, Post-colonialism, Political science, Statsvetenskap

This Discussion Paper draws attention to the often overlooked aspects of the limits, poverty and contradictions embedded in the “unfinished business” of the Zimbabwe nation state project. It is located within the broader context of the crisis of the nation-state in an African continent increasingly buffeted by waves of globalisation. It also revisits the debate on whether postcolonial nationalism can completely avoid reproducing the racial and ethnic discrimination that characterised its colonial past. Zeroing in on Zimbabwe, the paper argues that the nation-state crisis has roots in the legacy of settler colonialism, the ethnic fragmentation that marked the history of the liberation movement and the character of the nationalist elite. Its critique of the politics of the nationalist and political elite, the Lancaster House Agreement, the National Democratic Revolution and the Global Political Agreement makes this paper an important contribution to the debates on the real legacy of the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe and the prospects for a common national identity based on nationalism, social justice, inclusive democracy and development in the country.

Class, elite, and community in African development

Upphovsperson:	Manghezi, Alpheus
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	1976
Ämnesord:	Africa, Social structure, Social classes, Elite, Class struggle, Modernization, Community development, Theses, Sociology, Sociology, Sociologi

This paper covers the independent states of tropical Africa (South of the Sahara). Its main focus is on the ex-British colonies. It attempts to deal with a variety of concepts and themes of differing degrees of complexities: these inlude notions of colonialism and imperialist penetration, the process of decolonozation, social and class formations, class and class struggle, élite, and social and political mobilization.