Limits to liberation in southern Africa

the long version

The analyses in this collection provide a basis for a debate that is becoming increasingly necessary: has the politics of liberation in southern Africa run its course. With chapters on Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa, the contributors pose a number of critical questions: Why is it that 'post-liberation' politics, rather than leading to participatory democracy, seem to be leading to political oppression and decay? -- Are liberation politics inherently undemocratic, or are current tendencies towards authoritarianism an outcome of other forces? -- Is the model of liberal democracy adopted by post-liberation societies inherently elitist, lending itself to the effective suppression or containment of popular opinions and aspirations?