Education and Intra-Alliance Conflict: Contrasting and Comparing Popular Struggles in Apartheid South Africa and Palestine

Abstract

Much recent research has been directed at illuminating the role of education in major conflicts between ethnic groups. It is increasingly well understood that education does not necessarily have a positive, peace-supporting influence, but that the wrong kind of education can serve to reinforce divisions. However, in many conflicts there are multiple fault lines. Even if one central antagonism between two broad groupings can be identified, numerous tensions and divergent interests may exist within each of these groupings. This study examines the hypothesis that the notion of the ‘two faces of education’ extends to such ‘conflicts within the conflict’. In other words, with regard to tensions within groups on the ‘same side’, education and schooling may also serve either as a unifying force or as a cause of violent disagreement – or both at the same time. This article presents the results of extracting both kind of themes – education as divisive or unifying – from a thorough review of the literature on two case studies: South African education during the anti-apartheid struggle, and the development of Palestinian education in exile and under occupation. While significant differences exist, there are also some common patterns, such as the use of educational privileges to co-opt part of the opposition, the continuation of educational class differentials within broad alliances during and after conflict, and the role of ambiguity in educational discourse in opposition. Both cases support the conclusion that education and schooling can play an ambivalent role at all levels of complex conflicts, and that research on ‘education and conflict’ cannot afford to ignore this complexity.