what is the role of secrets in politics?
minkcley and legassick: secrets are property of the secretive; the secret services have control of their histories
liberal prejudice against secrecy in britain originating in 1810s; secrecy inevitably gives rise to corruption
relativizing of truthfulness
arendt: modes of thought and communication that deal w truth are domineering
jay: diff b/w lots of small lies, partial truths, and what has come to be known as the ‘big lie’ which is the orwellian reversal of truth common in totalitarians
“many politics” / “many pasts”
multiple versions of history can be simultaneously true, constituted within specific political and historical contexts
ndlovu on liberation movements & truth
claims that all political interest groups aim to legitimize their policies by seeking precedents for them in the past
“selective truths” rather than “invention” to reshape the past to suit their purposes
douek and secrecy
mistrust of outsiders a key feature among ex-combatants, following risk of spies and capture
lalu reading
colonial domination establishes evidentiary rules, identifying the “colonial information economy” as a record of documents, letters, and statements that reinforce the colonizers’ claim to the land and discredits indigenous claims
colonial archive and the subaltern: one cannot liberate the narrative through the dominant narrative; “mechanics of europe producing itself as sovereign subject through its other”
AmaXhosa King Hintsa (1789-1835)
1779-1879: nine frontier wars between xhosas and british
more and more xhosa land seized by colonizers
hintsa led the resistance in the sixth frontier war but was killed by british invaders who mutilated his body
written colonial accounts of aftermath are murky and written from victor’s perspective
the ‘subtaltern’
historically marginalized/colonized populations that rarely have an opportunity to tell their own history; even researchers sympathetic to them end up speaking for them, in a colonial construction of the Other
jessica allina-pisano reading
knowledge produced in the margins may sometimes be more accurate than that generated in the center
more than another perspective, sometimes have more detailed information
disappearance of MK guerillas at wallmansthal
1994: fights from MK assembled at several Sou. A army bases to be integrated into new, democratic security forces
faced discrimination and marginalization, and many were ‘disappeared’ by apartheid special forces
the bushman myth
gordon’s critique on an anthro paper (written by a S.Af military member) that writes about a group of native africans - khoi-san - that operate outside of modernity
portrayed bushmen as outside of time
gordon: og author writes about bushmen, dehumanizing and stereotyping them
mamdani
east indian born in uganda, whose family was brought over
‘separate but subordinate’ idea from S.Afr blueprint for west africa
indirect vs direct rule (they aren’t mutually exclusive but they are different)
roots of apartheid
separate administration and separate territories
indirect rule
present in natal and cape colonies in SA
indigenous leaders operating on their own behalf
direct rule
present in only cape colony
destruction of communal autonomy and destruction of land like outright seizure of land
anglo-boer war (1899-1902)
war bw english and dutch afrikaaners
english win and SA is independent but still under white minority rule
separated africans into tribal units (hardened identity and fragmented)
uses of tribalism
NO ONE is a majority
largest group is only 20% of pop
less unity to fight against white minority leaders
the bantustans
mamdani
prime example of tribalism
1960s rural segregated homelands governed by africans but ruled by apartheid regime (indirect rule)
not considered citizens so white min makes maj of SA
gave rise to laws enforcing blacks to have a ‘pass’ in SA
estado novo
portuguese apartheid in angola led by antonio salazar following WWII
peasant consciousness
marx: society must have been industrialized for consciousness
mao: oppression is the only pre req
relative deprivation theory: peasant grievances cause mobility, like land scarcity, unfair taxes, and brutality
zimbabwe: buying own land a form of revolt (peasant revolt)
FRELIMO
mozambican liberation front against portuguese
mozam. illiteracy rate at 98% in contrast to rhodesia and S.Afr
non-racial; capitalist exploitation the enemy
founded by eduardo mondlane in 1962 who resided in tanzania but was assassinated
recruitment: controlled territory (liberated zones) in N. Moz
liberated zones
allows for self governance and recruitment
FRELIMO and ZANU achieved lib zones
SWAPO and ANC did not
ZANU / ZAPU
split in ‘63: Zanu (shona) Zapu (Ndebele)
not extremely unified because of this
recruitment strategy: housing and food from locals who trusted them
protected villages
implemented by rhodesia government to stop spread of ZAPU ZANU ideology
villages guarded by rhodesian soldiers
