Abstract:
The main objective of this study is to analyse the concept of civil disobedience by
providing an overview of its historical development; its objectives and strategies, and
how this was applied in South Africa by the United Democratic Front in the 1980s.
The sub-objectives were to determine if civil disobedience as a concept is going
through, or has gone through any notable changes since its inception; to assess the
extent to which United Democratic Front policies and strategies were in accordance
with civil disobedience; and to briefly compare manifestations of civil disobedience in
South Africa in the pre-1994 period, with some manifestations in the post-1994
period.
The study included an assessment of the Defiance Campaign, analysing its impact
and demise. It focused on the ANC strategy of mass action and assessed the role of
the Pan African Congress. It outlined the formation of the UDF, assessing its vision,
broad principles, organisation and objectives.
Certain assumptions were assessed in the concluding chapters, namely that civil
disobedience has developed into a broader concept than the original concept of
passive resistance; that the policies and strategies of the United Democratic Front
initially resembled some aspects of civil disobedience but eventually deviated from
this due to a change in strategy; and that some contemporary manifestations of civil
disobedience in South Africa resemble certain methods used in the 1980s, but the
objectives differ.
