The decline of Zulu nationalism as a defining feature of IFP policy, 1994-1997.
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Date
1998
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Abstract
This thesis provides an analysis of changes apparent in the ideology and style of the Inkatha
Freedom Party'si politics since April 1994. The IFP's first three years in power under the
new dispensation, as a member of the Government of National Unity and the majority party
in KwaZulu-Natal, have witnessed a significant shift away from the militant Zulu
nationalism and confrontational tactics that characterised the party from the mid-1980s.
Zulu nationalism has been abandoned in favour of a broader appeal, while the brinkmanship
employed during negotiations in the early 1990s, the walkouts and threats of violent
resistance, have been largely absent in the post-election period. Confrontation since 1994,
and especially since 1996, has gradually given way to more accommodatory and
cooperative relations with the political opposition, on both the national and provincial levels
of government.
To understand why this shift has occurred, it is necessary to examine the nature of Zulu
nationalism as espoused by Inkatha. It is my assertion that Inkatha employed Zulu
nationalism in an attempt to preserve its institutionalised power base in the KwaZulu-Natal
region and exercise a voice on the national level. Nationalist rhetoric became increasingly
prevalent as violence escalated in the late 1980s, and peaked in the uncertainty of the
political transition as the IFP faced marginalisation on South Africa's emerging politicalstage.
Zulu nationalism acted as the rallying call for party faithful to resist the challenge of
the United Democratic Front!African National Congress in the 1980s, and provided
justification for Inkatha's confrontational approach and demands for Zulu self-determination
in the early 1990s. Indeed, Inkatha's brand of Zulu nationalism has always been about 1
advancing the party interest, rather than defending the integrity of the divided and warring
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Zulu people. It is in this light that the post-1994 shift in ideological emphasis must be
understood.
The April 1994 general election ushered in a new era in South African politics, in which the
IFP found its role radically altered. From playing the part of spoiler on the outskirts of
formal political structures it now had to adjust to its status as the majority party in the
provincial legislature, with Buthelezi in a prominent role in the national cabinet. Under
these conditions, the party's interests were advanced by the establishment of a smootWy run
provincial administration, under which its regional power could be consolidated. Thus, the
new political order created a space for the IFP within the democratic system in which its
credibility rested on its ability to govern the province effectively. Further, under these
conditions, confrontation was not only less attractive as a means of achieving party
objectives, it was also less effective and feasible. This the IFP learnt the hard way, in terms
of its disastrous constitution-making experience. Its boycott of negotiations at the national
level merely served to deprive the IFP of a role in drawing up the country's final
constitution, while a belligerent approach at the provincial level prevented the realisation of
a compromise agreement. The IFP was forced to accept that its majority in the provincial
legislature was insufficient to allow it to rule unilaterally in the province. The loss of therKing's
political allegiance, coupled with election results which revealed strong support for
the ANC among urban Zulus while the IFP's support was largely confined to traditionalist
rural communities, undermined the party's claims to represent the Zulu nation. Furthermore,
the gradual return of law and order in the province diminished the IFP's capacity to resort to
militarism, thus taking some of the bite out of a confrontational strategy.
In brief, the IFP was both pulled and pushed into the new order, and hence to some extent, a
new ideology and political style. By 1996 the Zulu nationalism and belligerence that had
characterised the party since the mid-1980s had been replaced with a liberal-conservative
platform that sought resonance with the urban electorate, coupled with efforts to improve
cooperative relations with the political opposition in the interests of provincial stability.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.
Keywords
Zulu Nationalism., South Africa--Politics and Government--1994., Kwazulu-Natal--Politics and Government--1994., Inkatha., Theses--Political science.