Problematizing Resistance:An Introduction
Abstract
Problematizing Resistance An Introduction Amanda Alexander University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Mandisa Mbali Oxford University, UK/University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Journal of Asian and African Studies Copyright 2006 SAGE Publications www.sagepublications.com (London,Thousand Oaks, and New Delhi) Vol 41(1/2): 712 In the last several years, an expanding literature has traced the rise of new social movements in post-apartheid South Africa.1 As Desai and Pithouse (2004) have argued, initially this literature was largely celebratory and descriptive in char- acter and mainly announced the arrival of such movements. Indeed, as they point out, many social movements themselves have only just begun a greater interrogation of 'the constitution of counter-power' (p. 865). On the other hand, to date, much criticism of the new social movements 'from without' has seldom moved beyond the ruling African National Congress's (ANC) labelling of them as 'ultra-leftists' with 'hidden agendas'.2 We believe that the publication of this special issue marks a deeply signifi- cant moment in the evolution of a body of scholarly literature that focuses on the emergence and development of civil society resistance to neoliberalism in post-apartheid SouthAfrica. Specifically,we argue that the reports in this special issue point to a new level of internal critique