Abstract
Popular organizations in South Africa have gone through dramatic changes from the years of the anti-apartheid struggle to the almost two decades since the end of apartheid. This chapter presents an in-depth analysis of civic organizations, which rose to prominence in the 1980s, the post-apartheid new social movements, and the service delivery protests that followed in their wake. Despite their differences, each of these forms of mobilization was designed to draw attention to continuing basic material needs in poor townships. Together, they demonstrate both the idealism and the stark challenges faced by South Africans living in poor urban communities. The most significant shift from the early 1990s to the second decade of the twenty-first century is not the focus of protests, but their relationship to the ruling party and the role of township-based non-party organizations established to advocate for citizens’ demands after the protests have died down.
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Zuern, E. (2014). Popular Organizations in South Africa: From Civics to Service Delivery Protests. In: Obadare, E. (eds) The Handbook of Civil Society in Africa. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies, vol 20. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8262-8_17
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