Pontarelli, Francesco (DLitt et Phil)
Francesco Pontarelli obtained a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, and he obtained a second master’s degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where he studied ‘Labour, Social Movements and Development’. He has also undertaken researc h on the reorganisation and restructuring of a Fiat car factory (leading to a book and a presentation to the Italian parliament), and on ‘Labour standards and the working poor in China and India’. Valuable experience was gained as a volunteer in union educ ation, working at a community organisation’s labour desk, and participation in the FeesMustFall/EndOutsourcing movement. The candidate’s thesis draws on Antonio Gramsci’s theorisation of ‘passive revolution’ to explain why, despite the worst income inequa lity in the world and continuing high levels of popular struggle, the legitimacy of South Africa’s ruling ANC remains largely intact 26 years after the end of apartheid. His theoretical exegesis is strengthened by close reading of original texts, which is important given interpretive disputes about most of Gramsci’s writing (including scholarly debate on South Africa). Through rich empirical research, he extends beyond accounts that give primacy to an elite compromise reached in 1994. He investigates two movements that represent high points in post-apartheid resistance: the National Union of Metalworkers (NUMSA) and its political off-shoots, and the FeesMustFall/EndOutsourcing movement of 2015 and 2016. He concludes that, despite considerable achievements, neither undertaking had the combination of political vision, organisational capacity and popular support necessary to provide a foundation for articulating and fomenting an alternative to capitalism.
Supervisor: Prof K Alexander Co-Supervisor: Dr L Sinwell
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