ABSTRACT
This article examines the complex relationship between social and popular movements in Southern Africa across sectors and geographies amid erratic democracy. It analyzes how these sectorial and geographical divides undermine collective strategies and shape the contested legitimacy of neoliberal or undemocratic authorities. The article considers struggles over service delivery, housing, and accountability, as well as movements for land rights, natural resource control, and local governance. The convergence of these struggles highlights the urgency of forging cross-base alliances that bridge sectorial and geographical divides. Only by overcoming these fractures can social movements mount effective opposition to authoritarianism and advance an inclusive, participatory vision of democracy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Boaventura Monjane holds a PhD on Postcolonialisms and Global Citizenship (Sociology)from the University of Coimbra. He is a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS, University of the Western Cape)and is also a fellow of the International Research Group on Authoritarianism and Counter-Strategies of the RLS. He is also an associate researcher at the Centre for African Studies (CEA, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane).
