Domination, Resistance, and Social Change in South Africa: The Local Effects of Global Power

Manzo examines, by means of historical analysis, the effects of global power relationships on the politics of South Africa. The author looks at the ways in which global power constructs identity, normalises relations of domination, and shapes the form that resistance takes. She asks, for example, why dominated people are so often waging conflicts among themselves rather than directing their resistance unfailingly toward their opressors. Why, too, is open defiance relatively rare and mass action infrequently used? South Africa, as an example, is used to illustrate the much broader experience of oppressed populations as they struggle against Western domination. The book portrays the complexity of relationships in South Africa and the role played by black resistance in economic and political change over time. Manzo’s interpretation aims to unify and enrich the historical progression process and to establish a solid foundation for analysing the lessons South Africa offers about the use of power in international relations.