ABSTRACT
The world media has historically adopted an interest in specific manifestations of the political crisis in South Africa: ugly spectacles of state repression and mass revolt; white opulence versus black poverty; instances of racial discrimination and inter-racial violence; and, above all, the apparent dominance of key ‘national actors’ within a political drama about contrasting visions of the desirable form of national state. More recently, the focus of media attention has shifted to the so-called ‘negotiation process’ in South Africa: a process in which the same key national actors are apparently engaged in pre-negotiation posturing prior to settling their differences concerning the future form and character of the post-apartheid national state.
