Indigenous African Theoretical Concepts of Social Cohesion and Unity in Diversity in South Africa – an Exploratory Analysis.

While the concept ‘social cohesion’ is often used interchangeably with ‘social solidarity’ as articulated through Durkheim’s theory of social change. These concepts refer to positive social relationships in society which give rise to social capital as a glue that binds people together. This is especially so culturally diverse societies where social cohesion binds people across the boundaries of diverse identities into a nation. Thus, any nation riddled with divisions, and which seeks to build a common coherent national identity, would find this concept appealing. South Africa is one such society where this concept enjoys high currency within the national discourse. The post-apartheid government has been working hard to overcome the historical racial and social divides by creating a nation united in its diversity. This however remains a challenge as it has not yet been achieved and therefore begs the question: how best can the achievement of this national imperative can be enhanced? With this question in mind, this paper explores the indigenous African theoretical concepts of social cohesion. This is done to not only showcase indigenous African concepts as contribution to the world's theoretical body of knowledge on social cohesion and nation building, but also to highlight the specific role these concepts can play in strategies meant to achieve social cohesion for a nation that is united in its diversity.