Understanding South Africa

by Carien Du Plessis, Martin Plaut

When Nelson Mandela emerged from decades in jail to preach reconciliation, South Africans truly appeared a people reborn as the Rainbow Nation. Yet, a quarter of a century later, the country sank into bitter recriminations and rampant corruption under Jacob Zuma. Why did this happen, and how was hope betrayed?

President Cyril Ramaphosa, hoping to heal these wounds, was re-elected in May 2019 with the ANC hoping to claw back support lost to the opposition in the Zuma era. This book analyses this election, shedding light on voters’ choices.

With chapters on all the major issues at stake—from education to land redistribution— Understanding South Africa offers insights into Africa’s largest and most diversified economy, closely tied to its neighbours’ fortunes.

Genres: South Africa, Nonfiction

316 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Zuzana Kubáň · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw this book on the shelf of a bookstore, it gave me high hopes. Of course, I immediately saw that it’s written by two white people (whose books relating to African countries often tend to be problematic), but I also saw, that it’s recommending by certain South African black academics, which made me think that maybe after all, just because the authors are white, that does not mean that the book is necessarily bad. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

I felt a little uneasy about the book from the very beginning. The book started with a history of South Africa, which aside to few sentences, took the arrival of Europeans to the Cape as the starting point. Because that introductory chapter was very short, it also glossed over apartheid in such a way, that I almost felt like it did an injustice to the people who suffered under the regime, by not sufficiently explaining the brutality of the regime.

Next chapter focused on the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party. From the beginning, the authors took a very critical approach. At first I found it a bit too critical, highlighting all the scandals and controversies accompanying this party. Still at that point, I gave the book the benefit of the doubt, thinking that maybe that is just the authors style.

However, right in the next chapter, I was sad to see that the same approach was not applied when talking about the opposition, or namely the largest oppositional party. Suddenly, the authors took a more sympathetic approach, and when they finally got to one scandal of this party, when it’s former (white) leader send out a tweet that appeared to be justifying colonialism, the authors wrote it in such a way that it could easily be interpreted as her defense.

These three chapters already largely highlight what was wrong with the book. The book often felt one-sided, and I couldn’t help to think that I exactly know what the authors are thinking. Moreover, it was very repetitive, as it constantly went back to talking about the ruling party and its corruption. It did it to such a large extent that even when speaking about justice or education, somehow it reverted back to the ANC and how horribly corrupt it is.

I still give this book 3 stars, as it was still well researched and informative. I only wish that the authors kept their opinion to themselves and did not let it permeate the book or were at least able to look at the issues from a different angle. Because otherwise, it’s just another book written by white people about (South) Africa.

[Maggie McKneely · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars* South Africa is the first country I’ve been to that left me even more confused about the political/cultural situation than I was before I went there. But I’ve had an extremely difficult time finding a book about its history that doesn’t place nearly all the blame for SA’s problems on one particular racial group or political party.

This book, refreshingly, spreads the blame around to everyone! Which is the more honest and objective take, IMO as an outsider. The book seems very well researched and is easy to read, if a bit dry sometimes. It ends with the 2019 election, so parts of it already feel dated, but it definitely helped me understand the current state of things a bit better.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most international observers assume that the miracle of the reconciliation ushered in by Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with the ‘Rainbow Nation’ still prevails. Yet there is no disputing that political murders and intimidation now disfigure South African politics. Violence and intimidation are a threat to the democratic process.

South Africa laid bare. The authors take us on a journey from apartheid to current day politics and society. It makes for somber reading at times, especially the chapter on political killings. It nonetheless also shows the progress made in civil society and the work being done at grassroots level to redress some of the injustices of the system and the now endemic corruption.

[Charlotte Dines · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realised I know very little about the modern history of South Africa & wanted to find a book which would help remedy this. The writing is very detailed and provides a deep dive into the political history of the country since the end of apartheid, however I found the authors’ own biases to be quite strong throughout which is difficult to ignore when I was hoping for more objective commentary. The book was published in 2019 so I’m sure the political landscape has shifted massively over the last 7 years especially given the COVID pandemic and 2024 elections, but this is a good place to start (3.5/5)

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25 / 5 ⭐️

[L Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will give this book to my kids

If you want an accurate representation of facts around South Africa and how we got here after 26 years of Democracy then This Book is the one to read. From the era of Jan van Riebeck to Ramaphosa. This exceptional book gently cruise through time and history of our nation while making sure that it never gets bias or lopsided in its story telling.

I so appreciate the deligent work that has gone into this. Well done and thank you to the authors👏😃

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides excellent tour de horizon of all aspects of South African society, anchored in clear explanation of history and forces at work. Highly relevant for period up to 2019 but now increasingly dated.

[Aga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant book for all these expats who want to see bigger picture of SA!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well structured and digestible take on a huge span of information.

[K D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well documented and informative on a lot of the issues faced by South African societies and its politics. However, the biggest caveat of this book is that it is very bias and opiniated.

[Gideon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful but reading it 6 years after it went to print it is already terribly outdated.