A new terrain of struggle : the liberation of the 'self' : an analysis of the narratives of the experiences of activists of the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) about their circumstances in post-apartheid South Africa, in the context of reconciliation

This study sets out to explain and understand the behaviour of individuals who were involved in the anti-Apartheid struggle. These persons, more commonly referred to as activists, played key roles within various anti-Apartheid organisations between the period 1960 - 1994. Further, the study examines, via the life experiences of seven (7) activists drawn from various 'struggle' affiliations, including the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) Umkhonto we Sizwe, their role, behaviour and political proximity to the current government and the existing political status quo. Here, the study ties together key psychological factors, which cross discursively between two distinct political landscapes, that of Apartheid and the demands of a post-Apartheid South Africa. In so doing, the study reflects substantively on the psychology of activists during, and post, the Apartheid era and critically examines contextually emphasised notions of political activism, the complexity of forgiveness and remorse and the ever-increasing anxiety of reconciliation, nation building and development. The study proposes that the activist of today is not the activist of yesteryears and that individual metamorphosis is closely tied to political transmutation and, in the South African context, the often burdening (but necessary) process of social transformation.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Swarts, Brigitte Stephanie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Foster, Don

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8178

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/8178