State, Civil Society and Apartheid in South Africa: An Examination of Dutch Reformed Church-State Relations (Electronic book text)

This book focuses on the interaction of dominant groups within the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK), otherwise known as the Dutch Reformed Church, and the South African state over a sixty-year period. It examines how and why the NGK's relationship to the groups dominating the South African state changed in conjunction with the development of race policy from 1934 to 1994. This 'church-state' case-study allows engagement with a broader body of literature on state-civil society relations that promotes discussion concerning the rise of civil society and its connection to democracy. The typology introduced in this book demonstrates that state-civil society relations are more complex and ever-changing than normally ascertained. Additionally, civil society can and does exist in an authoritarian situation, and it can deter the establishment of democracy in the event that components of civil society identify themselves with exclusive ethnic interests.