SOUTH AFRICA'S INSURGENT CITIZENS, on dissent and the possibility of politics

211pp., paperback, First SA Edition, Johannesburg, 2015

First published in the UK in 2015.

“A fascinating account of protest based on an unshrinking belief in the importance of an organised, strong, powerful, and vibrant civil society, particularly of poor people. Its controversial thesis is that the early abandonment of protest and settling with the state can retard the strengthening of civil society.” Justice Zak Yacoob, former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa

“Whereas conventional readings of South African politics worry about a crisis of post-apartheid democracy, Brown offers a provocative argument that makes a welcome contribution to how we understand political agency among poor communities in South Africa today.” Thiven Reddy, University of Cape Town

“Julian Brown writes that moments of political insurgency 'can provide a lightning flash of illumination' into the inequalities of South Africa. His book is similarly revealing. He vividly analyses popular politics, insisting that the mobilisation of ordinary, insurgent citizens has and will impact on the shape of society and as yet unpredictable political outcomes.” William Beinart, University of Oxford

Julian Brown is lecturer in political studies at the University of the Witwatersrand and a member of the Wits History Workshop.