Government Confronts Culture: The Struggle for Local Democracy in Southern Africa

by Fuller,Bruce

• ISBN13: 9780815330806
• ISBN10: 0815330804
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Transitional societies -- struggling to build democratic institutions and new political traditions -- are faced with a painful dilemma. How can Government become strong and effective, building a common good that unites disparate ethnic and class groups, while simultaneously nurturing democratic social rules at the grassroots? Professor Fuller brings this issue to light in the contentious, multicultural setting of Southern Africa. Post-apartheid states, like South Africa and Namibia, are pushing hard to raise school quality, reduce family poverty, and equalize gender relations inside villages and townships. But will democratic participation blossom at the grassroots as long as strong central states -- so necessary for defining the common good -- push universal policies onto diverse local communities? This book builds from a decade of family surveys and qualitative village studies led by Professor Fuller at Harvard University and African colleagues inside Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

Table of Contents

Map	viii
Preface	ix
Part I WHEN POLICY HITS CULTURAL BORDERS
Can the Modern State Work in Multicultural Societies?	3	(36)
Beyond Cultureless Conceptions of Policy Making	39	(48)
Part II NAMIBIA: THE FIRST POST-APARTHEID EXPERIMENT	87	(98)
Post-Apartheid Nation Building: Whose Culture Shapes Educational Policy?	113	(52)
Lisa Bekett Mount
Ethnic Archipelagos: The Cultural and Institutional Boundaries of Early Literacy	165	(20)
Bruce Fuller
Haiyan Hua
Suzanne Grant Lewis
Part III SOUTH AFRICA: A FRAGILE STATE BALANCED ON CONFLICTING CULTURES	185	(80)
A Promising Mystery: When Local States Advance Gender Equity	203	(20)
Democracy Down Under? The Politics and Culture of Schools and Classrooms	223	(42)
Roseline Ntshingila-Khosa
Part IV BOTSWANA: A STABLE STATE, BUT A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY?	265	(72)
Can the State Democrative Gender Roles? Raising Girls' Attainment	277	(44)
Judith Singer
Margaret Keiley
Conclusions
After the Modern State: Crafting Effective Policies for Multicultural Societies	321	(16)
References	337