‘A Better Life for All’: Prefigurative and strategic politics in Southern Africa
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Swatuk, Larry A.
Vale, Peter
Abstract / Description
Prefigurative politics is a resurgent concept, seeking to explain a diverse array of social phenomena, from Occupy Wall Street to car-sharing cooperatives. The driving force behind these activities is said to be a combination of dashed hopes for a better post-Cold War world and the widespread negative social impacts of neoliberal globalization. Although located in the Global South, Southern Africa is not immune to these pressures and processes. Indeed, the region is rife with a number of activities and organisations demonstrating features of prefigurative politics. Taken together, however, it is unlikely that these activities constitute a ‘prefigurative moment’ in the region’s politics. So ubiquitous in theory and practice is the idea of the modern Western state as locus of ‘a better life for all’ that prefigurative impulses are quickly colonized by state-centered, mainstream actors, forces and factors. At present, significant student movements are underway in South Africa, #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall, suggesting possibilities for meaningful change not through disengagement from the state, but by directly confronting it in deliberate and coordinated ways. This demonstration of what A.O. Hirschman calls ‘voice’ is dissimilar to the general trends of ‘exit’ or ‘loyalty’ among individuals, groups and communities across the region. While all of these activities are indicative of a strong desire for a better life for all, transformational change in southern Africa requires strategic political thinking and action. Only the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall student protests suggest movement, albeit nascent, in this direction.
Keyword(s)
strategic politics prefigurative politics Southern Africa #RhodesMustFall #FeesMustFall religion migration diaspora tradition modernityPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2016-05-24
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
4
Issue
1
Page numbers
332–346
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Swatuk, L. A., & Vale, P. (2016). ‘A Better Life for All’: Prefigurative and strategic politics in Southern Africa. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 4(1), 332–346. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.556
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Swatuk, Larry A.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Vale, Peter
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:45:46Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:45:46Z
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Date of first publication2016-05-24
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Abstract / DescriptionPrefigurative politics is a resurgent concept, seeking to explain a diverse array of social phenomena, from Occupy Wall Street to car-sharing cooperatives. The driving force behind these activities is said to be a combination of dashed hopes for a better post-Cold War world and the widespread negative social impacts of neoliberal globalization. Although located in the Global South, Southern Africa is not immune to these pressures and processes. Indeed, the region is rife with a number of activities and organisations demonstrating features of prefigurative politics. Taken together, however, it is unlikely that these activities constitute a ‘prefigurative moment’ in the region’s politics. So ubiquitous in theory and practice is the idea of the modern Western state as locus of ‘a better life for all’ that prefigurative impulses are quickly colonized by state-centered, mainstream actors, forces and factors. At present, significant student movements are underway in South Africa, #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall, suggesting possibilities for meaningful change not through disengagement from the state, but by directly confronting it in deliberate and coordinated ways. This demonstration of what A.O. Hirschman calls ‘voice’ is dissimilar to the general trends of ‘exit’ or ‘loyalty’ among individuals, groups and communities across the region. While all of these activities are indicative of a strong desire for a better life for all, transformational change in southern Africa requires strategic political thinking and action. Only the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall student protests suggest movement, albeit nascent, in this direction.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationSwatuk, L. A., & Vale, P. (2016). ‘A Better Life for All’: Prefigurative and strategic politics in Southern Africa. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 4(1), 332–346. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.556en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1411
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1828
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.556
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Keyword(s)strategic politicsen_US
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Keyword(s)prefigurative politicsen_US
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Keyword(s)Southern Africaen_US
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Keyword(s)#RhodesMustFallen_US
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Keyword(s)#FeesMustFallen_US
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Keyword(s)religionen_US
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Keyword(s)migrationen_US
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Keyword(s)diasporaen_US
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Keyword(s)traditionen_US
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Keyword(s)modernityen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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Title‘A Better Life for All’: Prefigurative and strategic politics in Southern Africaen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers332–346
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Volume4
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record