Ragged Glory: The Rainbow Nation in black and white

Ragged Glory: The Rainbow Nation in black and white is the story of how Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma tried to shape South Africa's destiny in very different ways.
Hartley, Ray
24057
978-1-86842-556-3
In stock
new
€16.80 *

Title: Ragged Glory
Subtitle: The Rainbow Nation in black and white
Author: Ray Hartley
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers SA
Cape Town; Johannesburg; South Africa, 2014
ISBN 9781868425563 / ISBN 978-1-86842-556-3
Softcover, 15 x 23 cm, 312 pages

Description:

Ragged Glory: The Rainbow Nation in black and white provides an indispensable guide for those unfamiliar with arguably South Africa's most important era and contains surprising new anecdotes and insights for anyone who followed this unfolding drama. Twenty years after it abandoned apartheid and charted a new, democratic course, South Africa remains an enigma to observers of its political life. It is, on one hand, an example of a successful transition from minority rule and oppression to constitutional democracy, with all the trappings of a modern state. There is much to celebrate. But, on the other hand, it is also a country under siege, as self-enriching, extractive elites from the old and new orders seek to line their pockets at the expense of the poor. The institutions designed to protect democracy are frequently under threat, their backs to the wall, as powerful figures try to disarm those standing in the way of accumulation. South Africa is a country moving forward, but its pace is slowing and it is taking the occasional backward step as it carries more and more of the baggage of corruption, patronage and crime. My goal in writing this book has been to explore how the country has found itself in this precarious position twenty years after it embarked on a journey full of hope. I have attempted to trace the events, people and, to borrow Malcolm Gladwell's expression, the 'tipping points' that have shaped the first twenty years of the 'new' South Africa. My primary source is my own experience. I was fortunate to witness South Africa's democracy take shape from the best seats in the house.

Content: Ragged Glory. The Rainbow Nation in black and white

Contents
List of abbreviations
Preface
In the beginning
Part One: From liberation to governance
Mandela's thorny crown
Fables of reconstruction
A strong constitution
Some truth, a little reconciliation
The seeds that lay fallow
Part Two: The changing of the guard
Time to change gear
From prince to king
From rights to interests
A plague of ideas
Part Three: The tipping point
he ostrich and the albatross
A new frontier
None dare challenge me
A bridge too far
Spending your way out of trouble
Part Four: Rise of the rogues
The palace coup
The nowhere men
Power, lies and corruption
Challengers for power
Guns and machetes
A moment of clarity
A long and winding road
Notes
Sources
Acknowledgements
Index