ABSTRACT
Groups have often imposed their control of a state through violent means legitimized by claims of representing a nation. National rule is often reinforced through cultural forms of violence, including the projection of the dominant national culture and the denigration of subordinated cultures. Conceptions of nationhood are part of the terrain of violent struggle, broadly defined to include contested justifications for physical violence. Nationhood is clearly a fluid concept despite efforts of various groups to project their national identity as ascriptive. During the 1970s, the focus of South African opposition shifted from the then-exiled African National Congress (ANC) and Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) to the internal development of the Black Consciousness (BC) movement founded by Steven Biko. Although many people appreciated the achievements of BC, many were ready for a less idealistic approach to opposition-concluding that they needed "physical liberation" first, then "propagate correct ideas".
