South Africa’s Protest Tactics: Evolution and Expansion

• In Event: Citizen Participation & Protest in South Africa

Abstract

Repertoires of protest are defined by Charles Tilly as ‘the whole set of means that a group has for making claims of different kinds on different individuals or groups’ (Tarrow, 1993; 282). This article examines the development of South African repertoires of protest following the transition to democracy in 1994 – the post-apartheid repertoires of protest. It expands on arguments made by the authors in a recent protest edited volume (Brooks, Chikane and Mottiar, 2023). The article firstly examines the ‘new or transformed symbols or frames of meaning and ideologies’ that underpin post-apartheid protest action (Tarrow, 1993: 286). Secondly, it considers how far these protest cycles have expanded or evolved in that they move beyond instrumental tactics to embody the rights and privileges demanded by protestors (Tarrow, 1993). The article draws from mainstream media coverage of protest across three provinces in South Africa over the last thirty years.

Author

• Shauna Mottiar, University of KwaZulu Natal