Contemporary Left Politics in South Africa

The heuristic value of the political dichotomy Left and Right has been the subject of much debate since the end of the Cold War. In South Africa, the two terms are frequently used to describe political contestation within the ruling African National Congress (ANC)and the Tri-partite Alliance between the ANC, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions. However, what is behind the label ‘Left''? Writing about the Tri-partite Alliance is often focused on turf- and ideological battles. In this book, however, we seek to interrogate what these labels mean at the coal face of politics, in the Eastern Cape province. It will be argued that the Alliance Left is, in its practice, largely concerned with what insiders refer to as politics of ‘influence'', rather than with politics of ‘structural transformation''. This book should be read by students, researchers and others who want to understand the politics of the Tri-partite Alliance in South Africa. The book is also useful for anyone who would like to get a better understanding of contemporary politics in the Eastern Cape province.