The role played by civil society actors in the internalization of human right norms in South Africa during apartheid rule

Sammanfattning: Norms can act as touch stones to understanding reality; they could be both regulative and constitutive in nature. But the extent to which norms can actually influence decision making remains a true test to the relevance of constructivist arguments. My research is both qualitative and constructivist in nature. It examines the role played by civil society actors in the internalization of human right norms in South Africa during apartheid rule. I have used civil society actors such as: the Christian resistance movement, trade unions and the black consciousness movement to illustrate how norms could be internalized in a state with strong internal factors (civil society) pulling down strings from external factors (western powers and regimes) to act collectively, forcing policy change and hence a transition from an apartheid rule to a democratic nation. In accomplishing my task, I also used theories such as the ‘global civil society’ from the perspective of Kaldor 2003, the socialization process, boomerang effect and spiral models, all from Rise and Sikkink 1999. My sources are both primary (pamphlets and journals, written by organisations and also their web pages) and secondary (Books, journals, and also general articles from varied web sites and libraries).