Conclusion
Abstract
The focus on NGK-state interactions over a 60-year period reveals important changes in NGK-state relations related to the various factions dominating both entities. It also points to the possibility of civil society posing a greater obstacle to the realization of widespread democracy than the state in situations where civil society institutions are associated with exclusive, ethnic interests. In this final chapter, I summarize the various strands of conflict and cooperation in NGK-state relations from 1934 to 1994, anticipate what the NGK’s position as a civil society institution will be in a democratic South Africa, and relate current state-civil society debates in South Africa to the broader theoretical conclusions of this study.
Keywords
Civil Society National Unity Democratic Transition South African Government Mutual EngagementPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
- 1.Works by D.M. Balia, James Cochrane, John de Gruchy, Albert Nolan, Charles Villa-Vicencio, and Peter Walshe address the historical relationship between English-speaking churches and the South African state before and during the apartheid era. Two of the more recent works analyzing how Christian churches and institutions fostered democracy within South Africa are John W. de Gruchy’s Christianity and Democracy: A Theology for a Just World Order (Cape Town: David Philip, 1995)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Peter Walshe’s Prophetic Christianity and the Liberation Movement in South Africa (Pietermaritzburg: Cluster Publications, 1995).Google Scholar
- 9.Hannes Burger, ‘How Gemaak Met Jou Apartheidskuld?’ Algemene Kerkbode 155, no. 16 (1995): 11–12.Google Scholar
- 15.For the ideas expressed in this paragraph, see Blade Nzimande and Mpume Sikhosana, ‘Civil Society and Democracy’, African Communist, 1 (1992): 37–51Google Scholar
- 16.The ideas in this paragraph can be attributed to Steve Friedman and Maxine Reitzes, ‘Democratic Selections: Civil Society and Development in South Africa’s New Democracy’, in Transformation in South Africa? Policy Debates in the 1990s, ed. Ernest Maganya and Rachel Houghton (Johannesburg: Institute for African Alternatives, 1996), 230–50.Google Scholar
- Jannie Gagiano and Pierre du Toit, ‘Consolidating Democracy in South Africa: The Role of Civil Society’, in Consolidating Democracy: What Role for Civil Society in South Africa?, ed. Hennie Kotze (Stellenbosch: Centre for International and Comparative Politics, 1996).Google Scholar