In search of the political middle‐ground in South Africa

Abstract

This paper is based upon the premise that the containment of violent conflict and the maintenance of political stability in South Africa is fundamentally dependent upon the degree to which political reformists comprehend and are able to harness the social forces, the basic grassroots dynamics, the undercurrents and flows which constitute the life‐blood of politics. It is submitted that if reform in South Africa is to be of any inability or legitimacy, attention must be given to the dynamics of the political process which arise from the interaction of social forces and groups in a community and that there is a large area of common, and even identical interests, which should be identified. This in direct contrast to the traditional emphasis in South Africa on the all encompassing political system imposed from above.