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Political Power and Race Relations in South Africa: African Attitudes Before and After the Transition
Author(s) -
Duckitt John,
Mphuthing Thobi
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
political psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.419
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-9221
pISSN - 0162-895X
DOI - 10.1111/0162-895x.00132
Subject(s) - outrage , relative deprivation , socioeconomic status , politics , democracy , oppression , feeling , gender studies , social psychology , perception , power (physics) , sociology , ethnic group , political science , psychology , demography , population , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , anthropology , law
When an oppressed majority finally gains political power, what happens to its attitudes to its erstwhile oppressor, and to its perceptions and feelings about its socioeconomic disadvantages that were established during its oppression? Longitudinal data from pre‐ and post‐transition surveys of black South African college and high school students indicate marked reductions in perceptions of and outrage about intergroup socioeconomic inequity and deprivation relative to English‐speaking and Afrikaans‐speaking whites, but no change in attitudes toward these groups or toward whites in general. The findings are discussed in terms of contemporary theory and research on justice, intergroup relations, and group conflict. Some tentative implications for the prospects for a democratic political culture in South Africa are noted.