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Building peace and democracy in South Africa : an assessment of the "peace process" in relation to the "truth process" (1991-1998)

Bibliography: leaves 157-166.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Subklew, Friederike
Other Authors: Du Toit, André
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Political Studies 2014
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access_status_str Open Access
author Subklew, Friederike
author2 Du Toit, André
author_browse Du Toit, André
Subklew, Friederike
author_facet Du Toit, André
Subklew, Friederike
author_sort Subklew, Friederike
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description Bibliography: leaves 157-166.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2014
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/8626 Building peace and democracy in South Africa : an assessment of the "peace process" in relation to the "truth process" (1991-1998) Subklew, Friederike Du Toit, André Justice and Transformation Bibliography: leaves 157-166. This study investigates the relation between the narrow "peace process" that followed from South Africa's the National Peace Accord (NPA) and the "truth process" that followed from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) during the country's transition to democracy. The study narrows down these two highly complex processes so that they can be studied in relation to each other. The NPA was instituted during the crucial transition period between 1990 and 1994 in order to contain the political violence that threatened to derail the negotiation process then under way. In contrast, the TRC was established in 1995, the later phase of the transition, as a means to deal with South Africa's conflictual and violent past. It was mandated to uncover past human rights violations under the over-riding objective of promoting national unity and reconciliation. The contributions of both, the NPA structures and the TRC process, to building peace and democracy in South Africa are explored independent of each other before they are set in relation to each other. On the basis of guiding-question interviews conducted with individuals having been part of the NPA and the TRC respectively, preliminary conclusions regarding the historical question of whether a direct link between the NPA structures and the TRC process existed in South Africa are drawn. Departing from there, theoretical implications of the assessed relationship between the "peace process" and the "truth process" in South Africa are discussed. Based on the South African experience the study suggests that conceptually a link between "processes of peace and truth" is desirable as it can provide a more sustainable basis for the building of peace and democracy but it also notes the difficulties of establishing such a link in practice. The study points out that a direct linkage between "processes of peace and truth" could connect the ‘negative' task of peace-building - the reduction of direct violence - to the ‘positive' task of peace building -- the rebuilding of relationships. It is argued that such a linkage would further promote democratic consolidation. Departing from there the study concludes that a substantial or direct linkage between the "processes of peace and truth" is worth considering if other transitional societies opt for managing their transition by means of a "peace process" and a "truth process". peace process" that followed from South Africa's the National Peace Accord (NPA) and the "truth process" that followed from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) during the country's transition to democracy. The study narrows down these two highly complex processes so that they can be studied in relation to each other. The NPA was instituted during the crucial transition period between 1990 and 1994 in order to contain the political violence that threatened to derail the negotiation process then under way. In contrast, the TRC was established in 1995, the later phase of the transition, as a means to deal with South Africa's conflictual and violent past. It was mandated to uncover past human rights violations under the over-riding objective of promoting national unity and reconciliation. The contributions of both, the NPA structures and the TRC process, to building peace and democracy in South Africa are explored independent of each other before they are set in relation to each other. On the basis of guiding-question interviews conducted with individuals having been part of the NPA and the TRC respectively, preliminary conclusions regarding the historical question of whether a direct link between the NPA structures and the TRC process existed in South Africa are drawn. Departing from there, theoretical implications of the assessed relationship between the "peace process" and the "truth process" in South Africa are discussed. Based on the South African experience the study suggests that conceptually a link between "processes of peace and truth" is desirable as it can provide a more sustainable basis for the building of peace and democracy but it also notes the difficulties of establishing such a link in practice. The study points out that a direct linkage between "processes of peace and truth" could connect the ‘negative' task of peace-building - the reduction of direct violence - to the ‘positive' task of peace building -- the rebuilding of relationships. It is argued that such a linkage would further promote democratic consolidation. Departing from there the study concludes that a substantial or direct linkage between the "processes of peace and truth" is worth considering if other transitional societies opt for managing their transition by means of a "peace process" and a "truth process". 2014-10-20T07:17:34Z 2014-10-20T07:17:34Z 2004 Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8626 eng application/pdf Department of Political Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Justice and Transformation
Subklew, Friederike
Building peace and democracy in South Africa : an assessment of the "peace process" in relation to the "truth process" (1991-1998)
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Building peace and democracy in South Africa : an assessment of the "peace process" in relation to the "truth process" (1991-1998)
title_full Building peace and democracy in South Africa : an assessment of the "peace process" in relation to the "truth process" (1991-1998)
title_fullStr Building peace and democracy in South Africa : an assessment of the "peace process" in relation to the "truth process" (1991-1998)
title_full_unstemmed Building peace and democracy in South Africa : an assessment of the "peace process" in relation to the "truth process" (1991-1998)
title_short Building peace and democracy in South Africa : an assessment of the "peace process" in relation to the "truth process" (1991-1998)
title_sort building peace and democracy in south africa an assessment of the peace process in relation to the truth process 1991 1998
topic Justice and Transformation
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8626
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