ABSTRACT
The forces of globalisation and commodification, and the countervailing forces of
deglobalisation (of capital) and decommodification (of basic needs), are together locked in
combat in South Africa, in a manner as polarised as anywhere in the world. These
circumstances allow us to pose three stark questions. First, what dynamics underlie the
trends of international ‘neoliberal’ market expansion and socio-economic polarisation, and
of resistance? Second, taking two periods the 1990s, and 20002005 within South Africa’s transition to democracy, can we compress the processes of urban policy-making
and practical implementation, and identify a coherent trajectory associated with the roll-
out and roll-back of neoliberalism? Third, how do we interpret the sometimes explosive
political mobilisations in South African cities since the early 1990s, and what might they
imply in terms of future social development and public policy?
