The African National Congress: from illegality to the corridors of power

This article examines both the performance of the ANC in power and the requisites of power which have forced it to redefine itself, experiencing thereby a profound metamorphosis. It argues that radical policy shifts have from the party's birth in 1912, been part of its political reality so that heterodoxy has often become the new orthodoxy. This tradition of change has been accelerated by local and global realities since 1994 -- an assumption of office with virtually no power over the civil service and upper reaches of the security forces and a post-Cold War environment which generated a demonised of state intervention. Being in office has also changed the character of the ANC with the party now attracting those seeking a career and the perks of office, a consequence of which has been repeated allegations of the misuse of state funds levelled against ANC representatives. Finally, the paper notes that the ANC's second term has been marked by growing tensions with the Communist Party and a foreign policy with, as its central pillar, the creating of space for Africa to define its own future.