'National Democratic Revolution' is cornerstone of ANC/SACP/Cosatu policy analysis - SAIRR

Research and Policy Brief: NDR: the cornerstone of any policy analysis of South Africa

Dr Anthea Jeffery - Frans Cronje, SAIRR
29 August 2010, Politicsweb

People's War: New Light on the Struggle for South Africa, by Anthea Jeffery [*Amazon*] Author of: The Truth About the Truth Commission (PDF)

The current public service strike has brought to the fore the bitter nature of the power struggle at play in the ruling ANC/SACP/COSATU alliance. Our current assessment is that factions in the alliance, perhaps led by the ANC Youth League, are preparing to execute a political coup at the ANC's 2012 conference in Bloemfontein. At its most serious this political shift may include the axing of Jacob Zuma and his forced resignation as president of South Africa.

At the very least infighting ahead of the 2012 conference will continue to destabilize the alliance. This will have the effect of destabilizing the broader policy environment in the country and therefore causing a rise in levels of uncertainty about the future of the country.

It is our assessment that it is only possible to make sense of the policy environment in South Africa by understanding the ANC's concept of a National Democratic Revolution (NDR). The NDR is poorly understood in South Africa but it serves as the philosophical and ideological grounding of the ANC. Its origins, its importance after 1994, its consequences, and the countervailing forces acting against it are reviewed in the abridged analysis below.

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