South Africa and the limits of civil society

This paper provides a critical commentary on the civil society debate conducted in sections of the South African liberation movement, especially amongst those associated with township civic associations, in the early 1990s. The first part of the paper establishes the historical context of the civil society debate, sketching the evolution of the civics and the arrival of civil society 'talk' in the political camp broadly aligned to the African National Congress (ANC). The larger part of the paper is an excursion into political theory. It welcomes recognition of the democratic value of an autonomous civil realm by a movement whose historical allegiances and practices are far from consistently democratic. Nevertheless, the paper calls into question some noteworthy formulations of the case for civil society made by intellectuals and activists linked to the civics, arguing that these are problematic for the projects both of creating a more socially egalitarian society and of setting in place a post-apartheid democracy that is liberty-protective and inclusive. The paper offers elements of an alternative way of conceptualising a normatively ideal civil society. It concludes with some brief reflections on the state of play regarding state and civil society in South Africa in the period since the 1994 free elections.