Affirmative action in the public service

Abstract

This chapter begins with a brief background on affirmative action, followed by analysis of the relevant policy and legislation, focusing mainly on their justification of affirmative action. It also looks at the theoretical conception of citizenship and nationhood to show that affirmative action is not a policy abstraction but a function of a long intellectual tradition within the ANC and the nationalist discourse in general. The chapter ends by unpacking the concept of state efficiency as defined by the post-apartheid state.