Finding the Words: A Rhetorical History of South Africa’s Transition from Apartheid to Democracy

The author accounts for South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy from a rhetorical perspective. Based on an exhaustive analysis of hundreds of public statements made by South Africa’s leaders from 1985 to the present, Moriarty shows how key constructions of the political scene paved the way for negotiations, elections, and national reconciliation. These rhetorical changes moved South Africa out of the realm of violent conflict and into one of rhetorical conflict, a democratic space in which the country could resolve its problems at the negotiating table and in the ballot box.