Transforming the political: towards a transformative concept of political leadership in Africa

Acknowledging but rejecting the ways in which we make political leaders in Africa either 'saints' or 'crisis managers'. this chapter develops an account of transformative political leadership that shifts thinking by privileging opportunities and possibilities as opposed to crisis. By calling for a break with good governance as the dominant parameter of effective leadership, and privileging the thinking of politics from below through the distinction between civil and political society, this chapter develops the concept within democratic praxis. In this regard, transformative political leadership is popular democratic practice that transforms the political. The grassroots movement Abahlali baseMojondolo is used as an example to describe transformation of the political as the insistence on a mode of politics that foregrounds active inclusivity, solidarity, and collaboration; a living politics; and emancipation - as opposed to concessions - as an overarching aim.