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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The spontaneous ideology of tradition in post-apartheid South Africa
Author:Myers, Jason C.ISNI
Year:1999
Periodical:Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies
Volume:26
Issue:1
Pages:33-54
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subject:chieftaincy
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589349908705069
Abstract:Since the early 1900s a large proportion of rural communities in South Africa have existed under the jurisdiction of chiefs, i.e. men appointed, paid and directed by the State to act as local authorities, but to do so as chiefs. Chieftaincy was maintained by the colonial, segregationist and apartheid States as a political barrier to prevent the black working class from entering the political sphere. One could have expected that the postapartheid ANC-led government would do away with this institution of hereditary rulers. Instead, there has been an effort at accommodation. Rather than appointed autocrats, chiefs are now considered as legitimate traditional leaders. This transformation of 'chiefs' into 'traditional leaders' represents a type of spontaneous ideological illusion, whose source lies not at the level of discourse, but in the material conditions of rural communities. The structure of the argument in favour of maintaining traditional leaders amounts to the belief that the sheer existence of chieftaincy or the fact that it 'plays a role' can be taken as evidence of its legitimacy. However, it is impossible to actually demonstrate the existence of culturally legitimate traditional authority. The central ideological problem is not the subjects' belief that they are subjects because the chief is a chief, but the belief of outsiders, specifically the South African State, in their belief. Notes, ref., sum.
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