AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

6 The Utility of the Citizen: Relating Citizenship in Social Movement Activity 69
movement challenging class-based divisions that interact with many
identity issues such as gender and ethnicity. The campaigns and activities
of the APF vary considering issues of basic necessities such as water and
electricity, xenophobia, violence against women and media and communication
(The Anti-Privatisation Forum 2001). Due to the various issues
that the APF considers, as well as its structure as a forum or platform for
many voices, the APF speaks to the questions of identities and subjectivities
in relation to how they are experienced on a daily basis. They engage
with multiple actors, and in this diversity the APF has been able to bring
these issues to the table, providing a platform for these identities and
voices to be heard—not only for their consideration politically and economically,
but also as communities and individuals with legitimate grievances
and rights.
CONCLUDING REMARKS: REVAMPING CITIZENSHIP
As has been sustained throughout this essay, social movements, in their
varying purposes, are creative and signifying agents of change. The Anti-
Privatisation Forum, while heavily involved in actions against the state
and its partners, including political parties and corporations, is a strong
example of a social movement actively fighting for the inclusion and
identification of marginalized communities. Their anti-neoliberal standpoints,
ideologically socialist and representative of poor, working classes
as well as their methods for engagement with the state clearly place them
with a more revolutionary label. Notable for being a strong voice in
South African politics, we can see the APF as a social movement engaged
in pushing the notion of citizenship beyond a mainstream liberal
conception. The APF tends to focus more on citizenship as collective
rights, voice, and identity, challenging public and private actions that
have put the individual at the centre of attention under a neo-liberal rubric
for citizenship.
What can be seen through the engagement of social movements such
as the APF is the use of citizenship towards pursuing democratic principles
and practices politically, economically and socially. Accounting for
the plethora of influences that may impinge this process, social movements
further consider citizenship in pushing for more inclusive practices,
the understanding of multiculturalism and subsequently the creation
of new identities. Moreover, I have aimed to suggest that social
movements are not necessarily concerned with the relationship between