Rosy images of South Africa as a harmonious rainbow nation, and a guiding light for the world, are long gone. Instead, slow economic growth, high unemployment, extreme inequality, rolling blackouts, xenophobic attacks, and gender-based violence plague the society and economy.

The African National Congress (ANC), which came to power in 1994 with Nelson Mandela at the helm, continues to dominate opposition parties despite gradual but consistent decline at the polls. After a decade of corruption under the leadership of Jacob Zuma, the ANC’s new leader— unionist-turned-Rand billionaire businessman, Cyril Ramaphosa—promised to usher in a “new dawn.” Yet factional battles continue to infect the ruling party, which appears to have few solutions to the country’s major challenges.

Against this backdrop (prior to the coronavirus pandemic), there is an ongoing wave of local protests in impoverished black neighborhoods around issues such as housing, water and electricity. Kate Alexander identified the protest wave as a “rebellion of the poor.” Residents and media outlets call them “service delivery protests.” Regardless of the label, they now define post-apartheid South Africa.

To understand the politics of this upsurge, I spent more than a decade conducting interviews and observations in the places where protests were prevalent. Two themes—betrayal and community —offered a special promise of social movement and transformation, though they also came with crucial pitfalls.