An impressive mythology envelops Thabo Mbeki, Nelson Mandela's successor to the South African presidency. But key questions arise: Does he have an ideology? If so, what informs it, and how does it translate into practice? Has Mbeki managed to capture and articulate a clear vision, and a sense of collective values? Does he offer the leadership South Africa needs? This book offers critical perspectives of the globally dominant neo-liberal order, and Mbeki's place in that world. The book provides a comprehensive study of Mbeki's leadership and its implications for South Africa's future. It assumes that Mbeki will remain the dominant political figure in South Africa until 2009 and that his presidency will permanently mold the destiny of South Africa's political system and culture.

Introduction: Thabo Mbeki: Myth and Context - Sean Jacobs and Richard Calland PART 1: IDEOLOGY 1. Cry for the Beloved Country: The Post-apartheid denouement - John S. Saul 2. Thabo Mbeki and NEPAD: Breaking or Shining the Chains of Global Apartheid? - Patrick Bond 3. The Logic of Expediency: Post-apartheid Shifts in Macroeconomic Policy - Hein Marias 4. Does the Emperor Really have no Clothes?: Thabo Mbeki and Ideology - Sahra Ryklief 5. Thabo Mbeki, South Africa, and the Idea of an African Renaissance - Peter Vale and Sipho Maseko PART 2: POLITICS 6. Remaking the Presidency: The Tension Between Co-ordination and Centralisation - Farouk Chothia and Sean Jacobs 7. Thabo Mbeki and the South African Communist Party - Vishwas Satgar 8. From 'Madiba Magic' to Mbeki Logic': Mbeki and the ANC's Trade Union Allies - Sakhela Buhlungu 9. Down to Business, but Nothing to Show - William Mervin Gumede 10. State and Civil Society in Contemporary South Africa: Refining the Rules of the Game - Krista Johnson 11. Mandela's Democracy - Andrew Nash Conclusion: Thabo Mbeki: Politics and Ideology - Sean Jacobs and Richard Calland Select Bibliography Index