No ‘New’ ANC?

Abstract

The history of the African National Congress (ANC) and the different traditions and ideologies that have intertwined over the years have resulted in a broad-based, eclectic party. The ANC's enduring dominance and widespread support since 1994 as well as its justification of increasing control of state and society is only comprehensible when unravelling these different strands and understanding the influence of these underlying worldviews, which culminate in its national project—the National Democratic Revolution (NDR). As a result, the optimism associated with the demise of former president Thabo Mbeki in 2008 and the hope of a ‘new’ ANC is unfounded. Its history and the three intertwining strands still inform the policies, directions and decisions of the ANC today. The question that is thus posed is: Was the so-called ‘post-Polokwane ANC’ merely a manifestation of one of the traditions, namely, the communist strand, taking the place of pre-eminence over the Africanist strand, which was embodied by Mbeki?

Notes

The 1950s leader, Albert Luthuli, is famously quoted as saying: ‘The road to freedom is via the Cross’ (The Presidency, 2007).

Umkhonto we Sizwe, the Spear of the Nation, was the militant wing of the ANC, which embarked on a long and ultimately fruitless campaign against a state with a vastly greater military and intelligence superiority (Butler, 2004, p. 109).

A lekgotla is Sesotho word meaning court, which denotes a meeting called by government to discuss strategy planning.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicola De Jager

Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch. Email: [email protected]