Social movements in South Africa, as elsewhere, are combining traditional mobilisation
methods with use of new media technologies to mobilize, create networks and lobby for
social justice. While there exists some research that analyses how these social
movements are using new media technologies, less sustained analysis has been made of
the discursive struggles that confront these movements in their mobilisation strategies.
This paper examines discursive practices of one such movement – the Western Cape
Anti-Eviction Campaign, a community-driven social movement formed in 2000 to
respond to housing crisis in urban Western Cape and lack of service delivery in the
areas of water and electricity. Through the lens of radical democracy and critical
participation theories, the paper argues that while the material on the websites, social
media platforms and print media project counter-hegemonic ideologies, the discursive
and institutional practices of the social movements do not manifest radical democratic
principles and genuine participation. These discursive struggles and tensions highlight
the importance of recognising power dynamics within media practices of social
movements in the country. The paper ends by outlining for discursive opportunities and
possibilities of subversion by social movements in South Africa.