New Constitution of South Africa

The sociological context for the new South African constitution can best be summed up by the understanding that the realities of societal organization can differ from the constitutional, legal mandate under which society is somehow meant to be organized. The familiar history of apartheid in South Africa, which formally enforced social inequality (i.e., privileges for ethnic whites not accorded to ethnic blacks or so-called "coloureds") since the 1950s, was discarded by the new constitution; however, the fact that the law has changed does not necessarily mean that as a practical matter the de facto situation of race-based privilege has disappeared. In November of 1993, some 20 separate political parties in South Africa went to the polls to vote on ratification of an interim constitution and what was termed a National Unity government, which amounted to a power-sharing coalition government comprising ministers and executive representatives chiefly from the formerly ruling (white) National Party (NP) and the African National Congress (ANC). If approved, the constitution would take effect as a consequence

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constitution, appears to present unique challenges in this regard. Some take the view that the multiracial national elections of 1994, confirmed by the constitutional plebiscite of 1996, made it possible for all South Africans to transform their reality from one of social division to social unity. Others caution that much adjustment is required for a wholesale transformation to a constitutional democracy, even though elections have been encouraging and can be characterized as renewal. Still others present evidence of persistent social divisions, not in spite of the constitution but because of it, as in the case of a union protest against constitutional provisions under negotiation that might have restricted the right to strike, and the boycotting of the entire constitutional assembly for negotiating the terms of the final document by the Inkatha Party, a minority black opposition party that had also been responsible for violent demonstrations and attacks in the 1993 and 1994 elections. The implications of evidence that the ratification of the constitution cannot by itself transform South Africa appear most compelling from a sociological standpoint. Citing the fractious divisions in South Africa preceding the interim constitut
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2052
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)