Despite being one of the world's most vibrant democracies, vigilantism is regularly practiced in South Africa. Based on twenty months of field work, Contradictions of Democracy shows why, explores what South Africa reveals about vigilantism in other democracies, and uses vigilantism to explore the contradictions of democracy more generally.

• Preface


• Introduction


• Chapter 1 - Vigilantism and the Contradictions of Democratic State Formation


• Chapter 2 - The People's Justice: Historical Antecedents of Contemporary Vigilantism


• Chapter 3 - Spectacles of State Craft: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Post-Apartheid Law Making


• Chapter 4 - Rights in Translation: Vigilantism and the Meanings of Institutional Effectiveness and Failure


• Chapter 5 - Taking Charge: The Contradictory Pleasures of Citizen Crime Fighting


• Chapter 6 - The Risks and Rewards of Vigilantism


• Chapter 7 - The Racial Geographies of Criminal Panic: Protesting Crime in the Suburbs


• Chapter 8 - Against Vigilantism: Citizen and State Action to Combat Vigilantism


• Chapter 9 - Law-Making and State-Making as Vigilantism


• Epilogue


• Bibliography

Nicholas Rush Smith is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York--City College.