<p>This thesis considers different groupings that have come together in their participation in the policy processes relating to tenure reform in post-apartheid South Africa. It is methodologically and theoretically grounded in Bourdieu&rsquo / s notion of cultural &lsquo / fields&rsquo / , spaces of ongoing contestation and struggle, but in which actors develop a shared &lsquo / habitus&rsquo / , an embodied history. In these land reform policies and law-making activities, individuals and groups from different fields &ndash / the bureaucratic, activist and legal &ndash / have interacted in their contestations relating to the legitimation of their forms of knowledge. The resulting compromises are illuminated by a case study of a village in the former Gazankulu &lsquo / homeland&rsquo / &ndash / a fourth &lsquo / cultural field&rsquo / . Rather than seeing these fields as bounded, the thesis recognises the influence of wider political discourses and materialities, or the wider &lsquo / field of power&rsquo / . In each of the four very different fields, as a result of a shared history, actors within them have developed practices based upon particular shared discourses, institutions and values.</p>

<p>Over the past decades, transitions from repressive rule to democracy have increased all over the world, aiming at establishing disclosure and accountability for the crimes perpetrated. One way of assessing the &ldquo / solidity&rdquo / of these new democracies is to look at their provisions on freedom of expression, one of the most precious and fragile rights of man. The right to freedom of expression was recognised by classical traditional liberal theory as from the eighteenth century. It considered it as a useful tool to enhance true statements within the &ldquo / marketplace of ideas&rdquo / . Liberals also believed that such right was a prerequisite for individual autonomy and selffulfillment. They claimed that it strengthened democracy, by allowing individuals to receive all information on issues of public concern which they needed to vote intelligently. Lastly, they argued that it promoted the ideal of tolerance. Since then, the right to freedom of expression has been considered a cornerstone of democracy and protected as such by international instruments among which the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the African Charter for Human and Peoples&rsquo / Rights of 1981 and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950.</p>

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No description available.

The apparent complicity of South African Jews with apartheid rule is of social scientific interest in that it is unexpected. Pronounced left-liberalism is considered to be the default position of Jewish politics in Western societies. Yet in South Africa, while a small minority of Jews were conspicuous players in left-radicalism, the vast majority of Jews seem to have complied with the discriminations and injustices of apartheid. This thesis challenges the commonplace assumption that the political records of SA Jewry under apartheid refutes the oft-noted pattern of left-liberalism among modern Jews in the Diaspora. I argue that political actions do not necessarily reflect political values, especially under authoritarian regimes. Jews may strongly subscribe to liberal values, but, as a result of pressures both extrinsic and intrinsic to their particular communities, be less able or less willing to express these values in a politically overt manner than Jews elsewhere. I suggest that, in the South African case, voting patterns and official postures obscure rather a Jewish preference for liberal values. The Jewish community in SA while unusually cohesive was, like other Diaspora communities, not monolithic. The ???united front??? presented by the Jewish community in apartheid SA disguised a predictably diverse range of political opinion. It is appropriate that our quest to understand and explain political values goes beyond that which is openly expressed and peers into the shadows of political behaviour. The point is not to morally redeem the South African community, whose record, after all, may still be found wanting. Rather, it is to recognise that hidden in the official deliberations and directives, and in the domestic dilemmas and incidental actions of SA Jews, is the material from which we may form a fuller picture of SA Jewish political values. More generally the case highlights the complexity of studying, comparing, and generalising about political behaviour.

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborg University, 2007. / Abstract (2 p.) inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 357-379).

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Univ., Diss.--Göteborg, 2007.

Thesis (PhD(Science of Religion and Missiology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 403-417).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Political Science, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 7, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 304-329). Also issued in print.