Introduction

This section serves as an Introduction to the book and seeks to ground its arguments and discussions on a conceptual and theoretical bedrock. This is done to provide clarity to its position, in so far as its intellectual tradition is concerned. This is because the issues under the book’s spotlight are influenced by many forces and therefore cannot only be analysed from a single perspective or one prism. Rather, many of the issues discussed here have different connotations and nuances, depending on the intellectual tradition and ideologies of the enquirer(s). The chapter also presents a historical background of South Africa while interweaving it with contemporary situations.