Jeremy Seekings

A history of the organization that was central to South Africa's transition to democracy. Highly acclaimed by Professor Gail Gerhart, this scholarly study should be a useful tool to anybody interested in the history of the UDF.

A History of the United Democratic Front in South Africa, 1983-1991

The UDF

Elena Moore

University of Cape Town. Centre for Social Science Research

"The provision of financial assistance and personal care in contemporary South Africa entails a distinctive combination of state, market and kin. The state assists financially the deserving poor, but provides little personal care. Better-off people rely increasingly on the market for both income support and care. The poor rely heavily on kin, especially female, maternal kin. The South African case is unlike any of the standard welfare and care regimes identified by Esping-Andersen or his critics." -- Abstract.

Kin, Market and State in the Provision of Care in South Africa

The new South Africa cannot be understood without a knowledge of the history of the UDF and its role in the transition to democracy. This is the first major study of an organization that transformed South African politics in the 1980s. By coordinating popular struggles on the ground and promoting the standing of the African National Congress, the UDF played a central role in the demise of apartheid and paved the way for South Africa's transition to democracy. Based on extensive documentary and interview sources, the book traces the UDF's birth, career, and dissolution. It is a remarkable tale of strategic and tactical decision-making: of how opponents of apartheid made choices that helped to seal the fate of white domination while avoiding the general bloodbath that always threatened.

Miguel Nino-Zarazua

Sam Hickey

Tom Lavers

"A study prepared for the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER)"

Jeremy Seekings

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