The Contested Idea of South Africa

This book reflects on the complex and contested idea of South Africa, drawing on a wide range of disciplinary perspectives.

Ever since the delineation of South Africa as a country, the many diverse groups of people contained within its borders have struggled to translate a mere geographical description into the identity of a people. Today the new struggles ‘for South Africa’ and ‘to become South African’ are inextricably intertwined with complex challenges of transformation, xenophobia, cla...