ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to make a contribution towards understanding the intricacies of national reconstruction in post-apartheid South Africa. It seeks to illuminate the conceptualization and implementation of national strategies that aim to address the legacy of apartheid, and to show how these are negotiated and/or contested on the ground. The book discusses nationally driven processes that seek to achieve reconstruction and redress, and analyzes post-apartheid nation-building. Post-apartheid nation-building does not only occur at the abstract level(s), but is also reinforced by collapsing physical boundaries through land reform, provincial and local government boundary demarcations. The book covers the land question that was central to the struggle against apartheid. It looks at the conceptualization and implementation of strategies to de-racialize patterns of land ownership and control.
