Contesting Transformation

Contesting Transformation is a sober and critical reflection on the wave of social movement struggles which have taken place in post-Apartheid South Africa.


Moving beyond a social movement scholarship that has tended to romanticise emergent movements, this collection takes stock of the contradiction and complexity that is necessarily entangled in all forms of popular resistance. Through an exploration of labour strikes, legal organisations, community protest and local government elections, the contributors consider how different movements conceive of transformation and assess the extent to which these understandings challenge the narrative of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).


An empirically grounded analysis from a coterie of leading researchers and analysts, Contesting Transformation is the definitive critical survey of the state of popular struggle in South Africa today.