Thesis-1997-Jones.pdf (11.44 MB)
Mmabatho, 'Mother of the People': identity and development in an 'independent' Bantustan, Bophuthatswana, 1975–1994
thesis
posted on 2018-05-25, 15:34 authored by Peris S. JonesThe thesis brings together two important themes within Geography and
Development Studies. First, post-colonial analyses of social identity and difference;
secondly, the relationship between social identity and the 'new' historiography of South
Africa. These themes raise important intellectual and practical questions central to rethinking
the relationship between the developed and underdeveloped worlds. During the
apartheid era political and cultural relations between core and periphery were (are)
integral to the fragmentation of South African society and space. Apartheid discourse
constantly manipulated social and cultural differences and divisions. These divisions
were epitomised by the enforced racial and ethnic partition associated with the
Bantustans. By focusing on one Bantustan, namely Bophuthatswana, the thesis shows
that complex identities and interests also emerged within these territories. Under the
guise of independence various marginal groups sought power and influence through
vigorous efforts to create and promote a new national identity. A range of issues are
used to identify and emphasise the intersection of two major discourses, ethno-nationalism
and modernisation. These serve to illustrate the complex interplay of local
and regional characteristics alongside more general processes associated with the
changing nature of apartheid. By reference to the creation of the national capital,
Mmabatho, the thesis demonstrates the shortcomings and contradictions of this nation-building
exercise and of the modernist discourses on which it was based.
Funding
Loughborough University, Geography Department.
History
School
- Social Sciences
Department
- Geography and Environment
Publisher
© Peris Sean JonesPublisher statement
This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Publication date
1997Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy at Loughborough University.Language
- en