Contradictions of Democracy - Vigilantism and Rights in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Despite being one of the world's most vibrant democracies, vigilantism is regularly practiced in South Africa. Based on twenty months of field work, Contradictions of Democracy shows why, explores what South Africa reveals about vigilantism in other democracies, and uses vigilantism to explore the contradictions of democracy more generally.

About the author

Nicholas Rush Smith is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York--City College.

Summary

Despite being one of the world's most vibrant democracies, vigilantism is regularly practiced in South Africa. Based on twenty months of field work, Contradictions of Democracy shows why, explores what South Africa reveals about vigilantism in other democracies, and uses vigilantism to explore the contradictions of democracy more generally.

Additional text

Smith's central argument is that vigilantism persists in South Africa not because the criminal justice system isweak but because the citizenry rejects the principles that animate it. A provocative argument on the moral dimensions of state formation, this book ought to attract wide interest among political scientists, socio-legal scholars, political anthropologists, and many others besides.

Product details

• Authors: Nicholas Rush Smith, Nicholas (Assistant Professor of Polit Rush Smith, Nicholas (Assistant Professor of Political Science Rush Smith
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.03.2019
• EAN: 9780190847180
• ISBN: 978-0-19-084718-0
• No. of pages: 264
• Series: Oxford Studies in Culture and Politics; Oxford Studies in Culture and Politics; Oxford Studies in Culture and
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Geopolitics, Geopolitics, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Republic of South Africa, Political structures: democracy, Comparative Politics, Social and cultural anthropology, Law & society, Law and society, sociology of law, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General