Ethnic Continuities and a State of Exception

This book alerts readers to the dangers of tradition as a formal, structured politics, which enriches a narrowly elite minority while overriding democratic rights, effecting a state of exception for the governance of millions who are rendered as subjects in South Africa. Gerhard Mar sets his focus on three powerful men Goodwill Zwelithini, Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Jacob Zuma to illustrate how, from different social locations, each has relied on claims to Zulu tradition to occupy powerful and financially rewarding positions. Print edition not for sale in Sub-Saharan Africa.