The book analyses rivalling positions in the South African constitutional debate from the early 1990s via the 1993 interim constitution to the adoption and certification of the "final" constitution in December 1996. A theoretical framework i sdeveloped to analyse the contesting constitutional models and the book asesses their potential for addressing the problems of violence, social inequality and ethnic tension. It argues that the different constitutional "solutions" are premised on incompatiple conceptions of South African reality and that the compromises required by the "constitutional moment" could pose problems for the "constitutional function". The book also discusses factors influencing consolidation of democracy in South Africa, including the role of the Constitutional Court and the attempts to build legitimcay for the constititution through public participation in the constititution-making process.

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