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CONTEMPORARY POLITICS II

CONTEMPORARY POLITICS II. Individuals, contacts & parties 15 August 2011. Context. SA politics categorised by protest/strike/resistance Central event Soweto uprising of June 16, 1976 176 people died – “ official ” figure of 23 Went further than the protest itself

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CONTEMPORARY POLITICS II

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  1. CONTEMPORARY POLITICS II Individuals, contacts & parties 15 August 2011

  2. Context • SA politics categorised by protest/strike/resistance • Central event • Soweto uprising of June 16, 1976 • 176 people died –“official” figure of 23 • Went further than the protest itself • Changed the struggle itself • Massive outrage • White South Africans for the first time • International disapproval • Follow up protests spread • By the end of 1976, more than 600 were killed • Effective • Within days, there were result

  3. Student politics today • DEBATE: How healthy is student politics in SA at the moment?

  4. Student politics today – student organsations • None are independent • All are aligned to political parties • Main organsations • South African Students Congress (Sasco) • ANC aligned • Strongest, biggest and most prominent in SA • At the heart of the SA student movement • Tend to be outspoken – very vocal • South African Democratic Student Movement (Sadesmo) • IFP aligned • Used to be strong, but not any more (much the same as the IFP itself) • UniZulu is the last outpost (but they’ve already lost some campuses) • Democratic Alliance Student Movement • DA aligned • Don’t have “control” of any campuses, but are winning seats • Cope Youth Movement • New and struggling • AfriForum Youth • Very similar to Sasco, just Afrikaans • Doing well, especially on traditional Afrikaans campuses • Riding the wave of Afrikaaner nationalism • Very outspoken

  5. Student politics today – challenges facing student movements • Too militant? • Protests/strikes/etc quickly and readily turn violent • Animosity because of this – and as a result they’re not taken seriously • Forcing other students to strike, etc, makes them lose respect • Disconnect between students and community • 1976 was a reflection of community anger • Do issues today reflect current concerns? • Relevance

  6. Student politics today – challenges facing students • High drop-out rates • SA university graduation rate is just 15% according to HSRC • Among the lowest in the world • Poor quality of school education system • Free education

  7. Strikes • Strike culture in SA • Spreads to universities and student movements • Almost an annual “strike season” at SA universities • Quickly turn violent • But are they effective? • In 1976, Soweto uprising changed SA politics – internally and externally • Afrikaans was removed as medium of teaching almost immediately • Achieved any real results?

  8. Strikes – how to cover them • Not easy to cover strikes • Journalists have a disconnect with students • Don’t understand the issues • Journos don’t have contact with students (very small student contact base) • Access • Balance • Focus on the strike violence, and not always the issues • Only scratching the surface of what’s happening

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