Contesting Transformation: Popular Resistance in Twenty-First Century South Africa

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

Much of the writing on these movements was produced when they were at their peak, whereas this collection takes stock of the subsequent period of contradiction and complexity. The contributors consider how these different movements conceive of transformation and assess the extent to which these understandings challenge the narrative of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

From township revolts to labour struggles, Contesting Transformation is the definitive critical survey of the state of popular struggle in South Africa today.

Marcelle C. Dawson is a senior researcher in Social Change at the University of Johannesburg. She serves on the board of the International Sociological Association's Research Committee 47 (Social Classes and Social Movements). She is co-editor of Popular Politics and Resistance Movements in South Africa (2010) and author of a forthcoming monograph on the Anti-Privatisation Forum in South Africa. Her work has been published in Citizenship Studies, Journal of Higher Education in Africa and Social Movement Studies. Luke Sinwell is a senior researcher in Social Change at the University of Johannesburg. He has published in Geoforum, Social Movement Studies and Review of African Political Economy.