Citizenship in Social Movements: Constructing Alternatives in the Anti-Privatization Forum, South Africa
Year: 2010
Type: report
Abstract: This paper explores how social movements construct citizenship and redefine the very\\nnotion of the political realm. Social movements have quickly become powerful actors\\nwithin South Africa\\xe2\\x80\\x99s civil society. They are largely contesting the basis upon which South\\nAfrica\\xe2\\x80\\x99s post-apartheid reality has been constructed according to specific policies.\\nCitizenship is in turn used as a lens of analysis to show how social movements in South\\nAfrica are contesting macro and micro-economic policies and government re-structuring.\\nThe case analysis of the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) represents one of countless South\\nAfrican movements searching for alternatives to ongoing socio-economic policy. The\\noverarching aim of this paper is to display how social movements actively construct\\ncitizenship, and to interrogate the strategies that are used to advance their agenda. The\\noutcome of this article is therefore to reignite the meaning of citizenship as a lens for\\nunderstanding the goals and methods of citizen lead activism. Moreover, the article reveals\\nthe competing and conflicting interpretations of rights existing between the state and other\\nactors as well as an interrogation of further strategies that could be explored for social\\nmovements.
Author: Meghan Cooper
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2141310591