Policy Adjustments and Practical Explorations of the South African Communist Party under a Century of Political Change

Founded in 1921, the South African Communist Party has a history of one hundred years to date. As the earliest established and largest socialist party on the African continent, the South African Communist Party has experienced a series of political shocks over its century-long historical journey, including severe suppression by the apartheid regime, South Africa’s democratic transition, and the upheavals in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. It remains vibrant and continues to exert significant influence in the process of South Africa’s political development. Unlike communist parties in other capitalist countries, this party relies on its alliance relationships with South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (hereinafter “ANC”), and South Africa’s largest trade union force, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, to exert influence on government decision-making and the labor movement, actively exploring pathways to transition South Africa from a national democratic society to a socialist society. The most fundamental reason the South African Communist Party has endured for a century without decline lies in its consistent adherence to using Marxism to analyze South Africa’s specific conditions and its timely strategic and tactical adjustments in response to changes in the situation, thereby enabling its own development to adapt to South Africa’s specific national conditions.

成立于1921年的南非共产党至今已有百年历史。作为非洲大陆成立最早、规模最大的社会主义政党，南非共产党在百年历史征程中经历了种族隔离政权严厉镇压、南非民主转型、苏东剧变等一系列政治冲击，依然充满活力并在南非政治发展进程中发挥着重要影响。与其他资本主义国家的共产党不同，该党依靠与南非执政党——非洲人国民大会（以下简称“非国大”）和南非最大的工会力量——南非工会大会间的联盟关系，对政府决策与工人运动施加影响，积极探索推动南非由民族民主社会过渡到社会主义社会的路径。南非共产党历经百年而不衰，最根本的原因在于该党始终坚持运用马克思主义分析南非的具体形势，并根据形势发展变化及时作出战略与战术上的调整，从而使自身发展能够适应南非的具体国情。

I. Racist Politics and the Policy Evolution of the South African Communist Party

一、种族主义政治与南非共产党的政策演变

The implementation of apartheid by the white regime and the anti-apartheid movement launched by the broad masses of Black people constituted a main thread of South Africa’s political development during the apartheid era. The South African Communist Party’s pursuit of socialist goals is also inseparable from this main thread. Based on the political reality of racism, the party put forward the political theories of “colonialism of a special type” and “two-stage revolution,” and at the practical level established a stable political alliance with the ANC. From the early 1920s until 1990, when the de Klerk government announced the lifting of the ban on the party, the South African Communist Party continuously adjusted its policy positions and struggle strategies in accordance with the development trends of racist politics. It not only withstood the sustained suppression of the apartheid regime but also developed into an important force in South African politics. Specifically, the development of the South African Communist Party during this period can be roughly divided into the following stages.

白人政权实施种族隔离与广大黑人发起反种族隔离运动是种族隔离时代南非政治发展的一条主线。南非共产党对社会主义目标的追求也离不开这条主线。基于种族主义的政治现实，该党提出“特殊类型殖民主义”与“两个阶段革命”的政治理论，并在实践层面与非国大建立起稳固的政治联盟。从20世纪20年代初到1990年德克勒克政府宣布解除党禁，南非共产党根据种族主义政治发展态势，不断调整政策立场和斗争策略，不仅经受住了种族隔离政权的持续打压，而且发展成为南非政坛的一支重要力量。具体来看，这一时期南非共产党的发展大致可划分为以下几个阶段。

(1) 1921–1950: The Founding and Development of the Communist Party of South Africa

（一）1921—1950年：南非的共产党的成立与发展

The predecessor of the South African Communist Party was the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), founded in 1921, but its origins can be traced back to the eve of the First World War. On the issue of whether to support South Africa’s participation in the First World War, divisions arose within the South African Labour Party. Revolutionary progressives represented by Bill Andrews and S.P. Bunting opposed participation. After leaving the party, they united with former members of the Industrial Workers of the World and the Social Labour Party in 1915 to found the International Socialist League. Influenced by the October Revolution in Russia and the Communist International, on July 30, 1921, the International Socialist League, the Cape Town Social Democratic Federation, the Cape Town Communist Party, the Cape Town Jewish Socialist Society, the Johannesburg Jewish Socialist Society, the Durban Marxist Club, and other socialist parties and political organizations merged to form the Communist Party of South Africa.

南非共产党的前身是成立于1921年的南非的共产党（Communist Party of South Africa，CPSA），但是其起源可以追溯到第一次世界大战前夕。在是否支持南非参加第一次世界大战的问题上，南非劳工党内部产生分歧，以比尔·安德鲁斯（Bill Andrews）和S.P.邦汀（S.P.Bunting）为代表的革命进步派对参战持反对态度，他们脱党后于1915年联合世界产业工人联盟和社会劳动党的前成员，创立了国际社会主义联盟。受俄国十月革命和共产国际的影响，1921年7月30日，国际社会主义联盟、开普敦社会民主联盟、开普敦共产党、开普敦犹太人社会主义协会、约翰内斯堡犹太人社会主义协会、德班马克思主义俱乐部等社会主义政党和政治组织合并组建南非的共产党。

In its founding declaration, the Communist Party of South Africa claimed affiliation with the Communist International and called on all South African workers, whether organized or unorganized, whether white workers or Black workers, to overthrow the capitalist system together, deprive the bourgeoisie of its rights, and establish a great union of workers worldwide. At its inception, the Communist Party of South Africa was deeply influenced by the Soviet Union and the Communist International. On the one hand, it could receive support from the Soviet Union and the Communist International in terms of funding and personnel training. For example, in 1929, the Communist Party of South Africa received financial support of £12,000 from the Soviet Union, a considerable income for a small party in Africa. On the other hand, in terms of ideology and political theory construction, it mainly followed the directives of the Communist International. In 1928, the resolution “On the South African Question” adopted by the Sixth Congress of the Communist International in Moscow pointed out that the task of the communist party was to influence the nascent liberation movement among the indigenous Black people of South Africa, help these liberation movements develop, and enable them to join the national agrarian revolution against the white bourgeoisie and British imperialists. In terms of the labor movement, the resolution “On the South African Question” required the Communist Party of South Africa to organize broad masses of workers to join trade unions and promote the development of trade union organizations including both white and Black workers. The resolution “On the South African Question” played an important role in promoting the Communist Party of South Africa’s closer ties with trade union organizations and national liberation organizations and expanding its influence within these two forces.

南非的共产党在成立宣言中声称隶属于共产国际，并呼吁所有的南非工人，无论是有组织的工人还是无组织的工人，无论是白人工人还是黑人工人，一道推翻资本主义制度、剥夺资产阶级的权利，建立全世界工人的大联合。立党之初，南非的共产党深受苏联和共产国际的影响。一方面，在资金、人才培训等方面可以得到苏联和共产国际的支援。例如，1929年，南非的共产党从苏联获得了1.2万镑的资金支持，这对于非洲的一个小党来说可谓一笔相当可观的收入。另一方面，在意识形态与政治理论建设方面，主要遵从共产国际的指示。1928年，在莫斯科召开的共产国际第六次代表大会通过的“关于南非问题”的决议指出，共产党的任务是影响南非本土黑人中新生的解放运动，帮助这些解放运动发展并使其加入到反对白人资产阶级和英帝国主义者的民族的土地革命中来。在工人运动方面，“关于南非问题”的决议要求南非共产党组织广大工人加入工会，促进包括白人工人和黑人工人的工会组织的发展。“关于南非问题”的决议对促进南非的共产党增进与工会组织、民族解放组织的关系并扩大在这两大力量中的影响，发挥了重要作用。

During the period from its founding in 1921 to its dissolution in 1950, the Communist Party of South Africa achieved a series of positive progress at the practical level, which can be summarized in the following aspects. First, it promoted the development of the South African labor movement. In fact, before the founding of the Communist Party of South Africa, members of the International Socialist League had established the first African trade union organization in South African history—the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union of Africa. Its founding further promoted the development of African trade union organizations. As the vanguard of the working class, the Communist Party of South Africa jointly launched workers’ strike movements with many trade union organizations, actively striving for the rights of the broad masses of workers. Second, it strengthened relations with national liberation organizations. According to the resolution “On the South African Question” of the Communist International, although the Communist Party of South Africa was an independent political organization, it needed to actively participate in the nationalist organizations of the indigenous people, helping these organizations grow and expand their influence. This resolution laid the political foundation for the Communist Party of South Africa to strengthen its ties with national liberation organizations. The Communist Party of South Africa not only strengthened its connection with the ANC but also increased its support for political forces such as the All-African Convention, the South African Indian Congress, and the Coloured African Organization, playing a pivotal role in promoting the formation of a united front in the South African national liberation movement. Third, it disseminated communist political theories and ideological concepts. The Communist Party of South Africa founded newspapers such as *The Worker* and *The Guardian*, widely propagating communist ideas, which had a significant impact among the broad masses of workers and peasants. The spread of communist ideas and the expansion of the communist party’s influence aroused high vigilance from the ruling authorities in South Africa, which was also an important reason for the enactment of the *Suppression of Communism Act* in 1950 and the self-dissolution of the Communist Party of South Africa.

从1921年成立到1950年解散这段时期，南非的共产党在实践层面取得了一系列积极进展，具体可概括为以下几个方面。一是促进了南非工人运动的发展。事实上，在南非的共产党成立之前，国际社会主义联盟的成员便组建了南非历史上首个非洲人的工会组织——非洲产业工人工会。其成立进一步促进了非洲人工会组织的发展。作为工人阶级的先锋队，南非的共产党与诸多工会组织联合发起工人罢工运动，为广大工人积极争取权利。二是密切了与民族解放组织的关系。根据共产国际“关于南非问题”的决议，南非的共产党虽然是独立的政治组织，但是需要积极参与土著人的民族主义组织，帮助这些组织不断壮大和扩大影响。这一决议为南非的共产党密切与民族解放组织的联系奠定了政治基础。南非的共产党不仅加强了与非国大的联系，而且加大了对全非洲人大会、印度人大会以及有色非洲人组织等政治力量的支持力度，对推动南非民族解放运动构建统一战线发挥了举足轻重的作用。三是传播了共产主义的政治理论与思想理念。南非的共产党创办了《工人》（The Worker）、《卫报》（The Guardian）等报刊，广泛宣传共产主义理念，在广大工农群众中产生了重要影响。共产主义理念的传播与共产党影响的扩大，引起南非执政当局的高度警惕，这也成为1950年《镇压共产主义法案》出台与南非的共产党自行解散的重要原因。

(2) 1950–1960: The Reconstruction and Underground Activities of the South African Communist Party

（二）1950—1960年：南非共产党的重建与地下活动

After the National Party, representing the interests of Afrikaners, came to power in 1948, it enacted a series of racist laws and regulations, implementing a stricter system of apartheid, and the process of South Africa’s political development became more conservative. Given its widespread influence in the labor movement and national liberation organizations, the Communist Party of South Africa became the primary target of the National Party government’s crackdown. In the view of the National Party, the Communist Party of South Africa was the main driving force behind the “protests” initiated by Africans. To address the challenges and threats it posed, the National Party government promulgated the *Suppression of Communism Act* in 1950, attempting to deprive it of its legal rights. On the eve of the formal implementation of this act, the Communist Party of South Africa held a Central Committee meeting in Cape Town in May 1950 and decided to dissolve the party organization. Many party members believed that the Central Committee’s decision to dissolve the party organization was part of a broader strategy aimed at establishing a new underground party organization to carry out activities in an illegal state.

1948年，代表阿非利卡人利益的国民党上台执政后，出台一系列种族主义性质的法律法规，实施更加严格的种族隔离制度，南非政治发展进程更趋保守。鉴于在工人运动、民族解放组织中的广泛影响，南非的共产党成为国民党政府所要打击的首要目标。在国民党看来，南非的共产党是非洲人发起“抗议”的主要推手。为应对其带来的挑战和威胁，国民党政府于1950年颁布《镇压共产主义法案》，试图剥夺它的合法权利。在该法案正式落地前夕，南非的共产党于1950年5月在开普敦召开中央委员会会议，决定解散党组织。诸多党员相信，中央委员会决定解散党组织是更为广泛的策略的一部分，其目的是建立新的地下党组织，以在非法状态下开展活动。

Although the Communist Party of South Africa was dissolved, its pursuit of communism did not perish. Some Communist Party members remained active in the workers' movement and the national liberation movement, exerting influence on trade unions and national liberation organizations. Some former Communist Party members held secret meetings to discuss the reconstruction of the Party organization. These Communist Party members formed a series of discussion groups, each with fewer than four people. They were unaware of each other's existence and had no open contact or connection. After three years of coordination and deliberation, around 25 Party representatives held a meeting at an Indian-owned shop in the eastern Transvaal countryside in early 1953, announcing the reconstruction of the Party organization and establishing the Party's organizational principles and membership rules, while changing the Party's name to the South African Communist Party (SACP). From its reconstruction in 1953 until it announced its open existence in 1960, the SACP remained in a state of clandestine activity.

南非的共产党虽然解散了，但是其对共产主义的追求并未消亡，一些共产党员依然活跃在工人运动和民族解放运动中，他们对工会、民族解放组织积极施加影响，一些前共产党员召开秘密会议，讨论重建党组织的问题。这些共产党员组成了一系列的讨论小组，每个小组不到四人，他们之间并不知晓彼此，也没有任何公开的接触和联系。经过三年的协调与酝酿，1953年初大约有25名党代表在德兰士瓦东部乡下的一家印度人商店召开会议，宣布重建党组织，并确立了党的组织原则和入党规则，同时将党的名称更改为“南非共产党”（South African Communist Party）。从1953年重建到1960年宣布公开存在，南非共产党一直处于隐秘活动的状态。

Although it operated in secret underground activity after its reconstruction in the 1950s, the SACP actively used Marxism to analyze the specific situation in South Africa and creatively proposed the theory of "colonialism of a special type," thereby laying a theoretical foundation for further close cooperation with the African National Congress (ANC). There were differences within the SACP on how to handle the relationship between class struggle and the national liberation struggle. Especially with the rise of two ideologies—African nationalism and Afrikaner nationalism—the Party urgently needed to respond from a theoretical level, that is, to answer what position class struggle occupied in a political situation dominated by nationalism. On this issue, the minority view was that the national liberation movement was led by the bourgeoisie, and the leading force of the national liberation movement—the ANC—would not safeguard the interests of the working class. Therefore, the SACP needed to prioritize class struggle and defend the interests of the working class. The majority view held that South Africa differed from ordinary colonies and had its own uniqueness: within the territory of South Africa, there existed "two nations"—one was a "white imperialist nation" in a semi-independent position, and the other was a "black nation" subjected to white exploitation and oppression. Thus, South Africa formed a "colonialism of a special type," in which white South Africans were in a dominant position and enjoyed various privileges, while the vast majority of black people were deprived of basic human rights. Based on the majority view, the SACP ultimately enriched and developed the theory of "colonialism of a special type" and formed the theory of the "two-stage revolution," that is, after achieving victory in the national democratic revolution, it would enter the second stage—establishing a socialist society. The theory of "colonialism of a special type" integrated class struggle with national liberation. It was also accepted by the ANC as its guiding theory, thereby laying a solid foundation for the SACP and the ANC to continue deepening their cooperation.

虽然20世纪50年代重建后处于秘密的地下活动状态，但是南非共产党积极运用马克思主义分析南非的具体形势，创造性地提出了“特殊类型的殖民主义”理论，从而为其与非国大进一步密切合作奠定了理论基础。南非共产党党内在如何处理阶级斗争与民族解放斗争的关系问题上存在分歧。特别是随着南非非洲民族主义和阿非利卡民族主义两种意识形态的兴起，该党迫切需要从理论层面作出回应，即回答在民族主义占主导的政治形势下，阶级斗争处于什么样的地位。针对这一问题，少数派的观点是，民族解放运动是资产阶级领导的，民族解放运动的领导力量——非国大不会维护工人阶级的利益，因此南非共产党需要以阶级斗争为先，维护工人阶级的利益。多数派的观点认为，南非不同于一般的殖民地，它具有自身的独特性，即在南非这片土地上存在“两个国家”，一个是处于半独立地位的“白人帝国主义国家”，一个是遭受白人剥削和压迫的“黑人国家”。因此，南非形成了一种“特殊类型的殖民主义”，其中南非白人处于优势地位，享有种种特权，而广大黑人则被剥夺了基本的人权。基于多数派的观点，南非共产党最终丰富和发展了“特殊类型的殖民主义”理论，并形成“两个阶段革命”的理论，即实现民族民主革命胜利后，再进入第二个阶段——建立社会主义社会。“特殊类型的殖民主义”理论将阶级斗争与民族解放进行了融合，亦被非国大接受成为该党的指导理论，从而为南非共产党与非国大继续深化合作奠定了坚实的基础。

(3) 1960–1990: Transformation of the SACP's Revolutionary Strategy

（三）1960—1990年：南非共产党革命策略的转变

In March 1960, the South African ruling authorities brutally suppressed a demonstration by black people, resulting in the world-shocking Sharpeville Massacre. Subsequently, the South African ruling authorities declared a state of emergency and, on April 8, banned the ANC and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Clearly, the strategy of ending the apartheid system through nonviolent peaceful protest had reached an impasse. Facing the political reality of the "illegalization" of national liberation organizations, the SACP made strengthening the ANC's forces its primary goal and adjusted its strategy against apartheid from nonviolent peaceful protest to armed struggle. In 1962, the SACP stated in its program *The Road to Freedom in South Africa* that the national liberation organizations of South Africa, including the Communist Party, had always adhered to peaceful methods of struggle in the long and difficult struggle. However, the ruling class of South Africa responded to nonviolence with violence. Faced with this harsh reality, the SACP believed that the national liberation movement had no choice but to use violence against violence.

1960年3月，南非执政当局对黑人群众示威游行进行残酷镇压，酿成了震惊世界的沙佩维尔惨案。之后，南非执政当局宣布实行紧急状态法，并于4月8日取缔非国大和泛非大。显然，通过非暴力的和平抗议方式结束种族隔离制度的斗争策略陷入了困境。面对民族解放组织“非法化”的政治现实，南非共产党将强化非国大的力量作为首要目标，并将反对种族隔离的斗争策略由非暴力和平抗议调整为武装斗争。1962年，南非共产党在其纲领《南非通往自由之路》中指出，包括共产党在内的南非民族解放组织，在漫长而艰难的斗争中始终坚持和平的斗争方法。然而，南非的统治阶级却用暴力来回应非暴力。面对这种严酷的现实，南非共产党认为，民族解放运动别无选择，只能用暴力对抗暴力。

In the 1960s, after the ANC was banned, the SACP, drawing on its own rich experience in conducting underground activities, actively helped the ANC rebuild its Party organization and, in 1961, helped it create its military organization, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). MK also became an important tool for the SACP and the ANC to jointly carry out armed struggle. The South African ruling authorities intensified their efforts, severely suppressing the black national liberation movement. Many leaders of the ANC and the SACP were arrested and imprisoned, and the Party's leadership structure, after suffering heavy losses, moved overseas. After the mid-1960s, the strategic cooperation between the SACP and the ANC further strengthened. Relying on coordination with nationalist forces to end the apartheid system became the guiding principle of the SACP's revolutionary strategy. After the ANC's Morogoro Conference in 1969, Africans began to be allowed to join the ANC. Subsequently, many members of the SACP joined the ANC while adhering to the Party's policies, and some members of the ANC were selectively recruited into the SACP. The overlap of Party membership became an important symbol of the close ties between the SACP and the ANC.

20世纪60年代，非国大被取缔后，南非共产党基于自身开展地下活动的丰富经验，积极帮助非国大重建党组织，并于1961年帮助它创建了该党的军事组织——民族之矛。民族之矛也成为南非共产党与非国大联合开展武装斗争的重要工具。南非执政当局变本加厉，对黑人民族解放运动进行严厉镇压，非国大、南非共产党的诸多领导人被捕入狱，党的领导机构遭受重创后转移到了海外。60年代中期之后，南非共产党与非国大间的战略合作进一步强化。依靠与民族主义力量的协调结束种族隔离制度，成为南非共产党革命策略的指导原则。1969年非国大莫罗戈罗会议之后，非洲人开始被允许加入非国大。此后，南非共产党的诸多成员在遵守党的政策的同时加入了非国大，而非国大的一些成员也被有选择地招募到南非共产党。党员身份的重叠成为南非共产党与非国大联系密切的重要象征。

During this period, the SACP exerted significant influence on the ANC's organizational building, policy decisions, and military struggle strategies. On the one hand, the SACP strengthened its ties with the ruling parties of the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist countries, securing financial support, cadre training, and military training from these countries for national liberation organizations like the ANC. On the other hand, many cadres of the SACP held senior positions within the ANC and MK, thereby influencing the ANC's strategic decisions and armed struggle tactics. For example, in 1985, of the 35 elected members of the ANC's National Executive Committee, 21 were Communists. In this regard, some scholars have pointed out that in the mid-1980s, Communists played a central role in the ANC's strategy formulation, particularly in its military strategy. At the same time, after the 1980s, the SACP continuously strengthened its ties with trade union organizations, actively established Party organizations among workers, and used publications such as *The Worker* to strengthen ideological propaganda and political education among workers, raising their class consciousness. In 1985, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was established, becoming the largest trade union organization in South Africa. In 1988, the SACP, together with the ANC and COSATU, formed the formal Tripartite Alliance in Harare, Zimbabwe, with the goal of overthrowing the apartheid system. In 1989, the SACP's Seventh National Congress was held in Cuba. This congress determined the Party's new goal of seizing state power and established a new strategic concept combining mass political movements with armed struggle, particularly proposing a strategy of resolving issues through negotiation. The Seventh Congress pointed the way for the SACP to effectively respond to South Africa's democratic transition in the early 1990s.

这一时期，南非共产党对非国大的组织建设、政策决策、军事斗争策略等都产生了重要影响。一方面，南非共产党通过增强与苏联、东欧社会主义国家执政党的联系，争取这些国家向非国大等民族解放组织提供资金、干部培训、军事训练等方面的支援。另一方面，南非共产党的诸多干部在非国大及民族之矛中占据高级职位，从而对非国大的战略决策和武装斗争策略发挥影响。例如，1985年，在35名当选的非国大全国执行委员会成员中，有21名成员是共产党人。对此，有学者指出，20世纪80年代中期，共产党人在非国大战略制定过程中，特别是在其军事战略中发挥了核心作用。与此同时，20世纪80年代后，南非共产党不断加强与工会组织的联系，积极在工人中建立党组织，通过《工人》等出版物加强对工人的意识形态宣传和政治教育，提高工人的阶级意识。1985年，南非工会大会建立，成为南非最大的工会组织。1988年，南非共产党与非国大、南非工会大会在津巴布韦哈拉雷组建了正式的三方联盟（Tripartie Alliance），其目标是推翻种族隔离制度。1989年，南非共产党第七次全国代表大会在古巴召开，此次会议确定了党的新目标是夺取政权，并确定了群众政治运动与军事斗争相结合的新的战略构想，特别提出了通过谈判解决问题的斗争策略。七大的召开为南非共产党有效应对20世纪90年代初南非的民主转型指明了方向。

II. Democratic Transition and the Adaptive Development of the South African Communist Party

二、民主转型与南非共产党的适应性发展

In February 1990, the de Klerk government announced the lifting of the ban on political parties, restoring legal status to the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), the South African Communist Party (SACP), and other political forces, ushering South African political development into a new phase of democratic transition. At the same time, against the backdrop of the international landscape, the early 1990s saw the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to the disintegration of the bipolar structure. Many communist parties in various countries changed their banners, and the world socialist movement was mired in crisis. This domestic and international political transition dealt two severe blows to the SACP. On the one hand, after entering the democratic transition phase of political negotiation, the alliance relationship between the SACP and the ANC faced tests. Some members believed the SACP was the “junior partner” in the tripartite alliance and had no reason to exist under the new conditions of the era. At the same time, some individuals holding dual membership in both the SACP and the ANC abandoned their communist identity. In 1990, nearly half of the SACP’s Central Committee members quietly resigned. Among the SACP’s exiled leaders and members, there was a view that “after the heroic struggle’s halo, the Party could not last much longer,” especially against the backdrop of the Soviet Union’s collapse. On the other hand, the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe caused the SACP to lose external support from the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. In particular, the world socialist movement fell into a trough, triggering a crisis of confidence in socialism among some Party members. Against the backdrop of the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, how to re-understand socialism and how to enhance confidence in socialism became prominent issues facing the SACP. To adapt to the changed political landscape and seek survival and development under new historical conditions, the SACP made a series of new adjustments and explorations in ideology, policy propositions, organizational construction, and struggle strategies.

1990年2月，德克勒克政府宣布解除党禁，非国大、泛非大、南非共产党等政治力量恢复合法地位，南非政治发展进入民主转型的新阶段。与此同时，从国际格局的大背景来看，20世纪90年代初，苏联解体导致两极格局崩塌，诸多国家的共产党改旗易帜，世界社会主义运动深陷危机。国内国际的政治转型给南非共产党造成两个方面的严重冲击：一方面，进入政治协商的民主转型阶段后，南非共产党与非国大的联盟关系面临考验，一些成员认为南非共产党是三方联盟中的“小伙伴”，在新的时代条件下已无存在的必要，同时，一些持有南非共产党和非国大双重党员身份的人放弃了其共产党员的身份。1990年，南非共产党几乎半数的中央委员悄然辞职。在南非共产党的流亡领导者和成员中有这样一种观点，即 “在英雄的斗争光环之后，党不能留存太久了”，尤其是在苏联解体的大背景下。另一方面，苏东剧变使得南非共产党失去了苏联和东欧国家的外部支援，特别是世界社会主义运动陷入低潮，引发部分党员对社会主义的信任危机。在苏东剧变的背景下，如何重新认识社会主义，如何提升对社会主义的信心，成为摆在南非共产党面前的突出课题。为适应变化的政治格局并在新的历史条件下谋求生存与发展，南非共产党在意识形态、政策主张、组织建设、斗争策略等方面作出了一系列新的调整和探索。

(I) Re-understanding Socialism

（一）重新认识社会主义

The drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union triggered deep reflection and extensive debate within the SACP regarding socialism and its future development prospects. In January 1990, SACP leader Joe Slovo published the article “Has Socialism Failed?”, conducting a theoretical reflection on the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the relationship between socialism and democracy, and the future prospects of socialism. In his view, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, socialism faced its most severe crisis since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. However, the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe did not signify the failure of socialism, but merely the failure of the Soviet model of socialism. Stalinism, characterized by a bureaucratic authoritarian leadership model, had damaged the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and distorted the practice of socialism. Although the socialist movement had encountered setbacks, the SACP believed that Marxist theory remained valid in all aspects, providing indispensable theoretical guidance for achieving a society without exploitation. The weaknesses in the practice of socialism were the result of distortions and inappropriate applications of socialism. He argued that the Soviet and Eastern European regimes were “socialism without democracy.” Based on the lessons of failure in these countries, the SACP needed to give a proper place to “socialist democracy” in its future development. State power in the post-apartheid era must be clearly vested in democratically elected representatives, not directly or indirectly in the administrative directives of a single party. The relationship between the Party and state institutions must not, in any way, undermine the autonomy of elected bodies.

东欧剧变、苏联解体引发了南非共产党党内对社会主义及其未来发展前景的深入反思和大讨论。1990年1月，南非共产党领导人乔·斯洛沃（Joe Slovo）发表《社会主义失败了吗》（Has Socialism Failed?）一文，对苏东剧变、社会主义与民主的关系以及社会主义的未来前景等问题进行了理论反思。在他看来，柏林墙倒塌后社会主义面临自1917年布尔什维克革命以来最为严重的危机，但是苏东剧变并不意味着社会主义的失败，而只是体现了社会主义苏联模式的失败。以官僚威权领导模式为特征的斯大林主义损害了苏联共产党，也扭曲了社会主义的实践。虽然社会主义运动遭遇了挫折，但是南非共产党相信马克思主义理论在各个方面依然是有效的，为实现没有任何剥削的社会提供了不可或缺的理论指导。社会主义在实践中的弱点，是对社会主义扭曲和不恰当地运用所致。他认为，苏联、东欧政权是“没有民主的社会主义”，基于这些国家的失败教训，南非共产党需要在未来发展中给予“社会主义民主”以合理位置。后种族隔离时代的国家权力必须明确地归属于民选的代表，而不是直接或间接地归属于一个政党的行政指令。政党和国家机构间的关系不能以任何方式损害民选机构的自主权。

Slovo’s article sparked enormous controversy within the SACP. In early December 1991, the SACP’s Eighth National Congress was held in Johannesburg, its first congress held within South Africa after legalization. In the political report submitted to the congress, Slovo advocated replacing the term “socialism” with “democratic socialism,” but this was not adopted by the congress. The new Party Constitution adopted by the congress clearly stated that, in the struggle for national liberation, socialism, and peace, the SACP is the leading political force and vanguard of the South African working class. The ultimate goal of the SACP is to establish a communist society under the guidance of Marxism-Leninism. While adhering to the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, the Party, in accordance with the political reality of South Africa’s democratic transition, recognized political pluralism, supported the implementation of a multi-party system and competitive elections in South Africa, advocated for a bill of rights and the establishment of independent mass democratic institutions, supported representative democracy and participatory democracy, and empowered the people. The SACP both adhered to traditional Marxism-Leninism and, based on the lessons drawn from the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, advocated political pluralism. This seemingly contradictory stance was, in fact, an adaptation to South Africa’s political reality. As the SACP Central Committee discussion document pointed out: If we are to build socialism in South Africa, it must be rooted in our reality, rooted in the rich experience and traditions of our own revolutionary struggle. Rediscovering the democratic values of socialism and emphasizing the democratic participation of the masses, especially the broad working class, was both a result of the SACP’s reflection on the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and a manifestation of its pragmatic attitude in adapting to South Africa’s political reality.

斯洛沃的文章在南非共产党党内引起了巨大争议。1991年12月初，南非共产党第八次全国代表大会在约翰内斯堡召开，这是该党合法化后在南非境内召开的首次代表大会。斯洛沃在向大会提交的政治报告中主张用“民主社会主义”一词取代“社会主义”，但是未被大会所采纳。大会通过的新党章明确指出，在争取实现民族解放、社会主义与和平的斗争中，南非共产党是南非工人阶级的领导性政治力量和先锋队。南非共产党的最终目标是在马克思列宁主义的指导下，建立共产主义社会。在坚持马克思列宁主义指导的前提下，党根据南非民主转型的政治现实，承认政治多元主义，支持在南非实施多党制和竞争性选举，主张制定权利法案和组建独立的大众民主机构，支持代议制民主和参与式民主，并向人民赋权。南非共产党既坚持传统的马克思列宁主义，又在总结苏东剧变教训的基础上主张政治多元主义，这种看似矛盾的立场事实上是对南非政治现实的一种适应。正如南非共产党中央委员会讨论文件所指出：如果我们在南非建设社会主义，就必须根植于我们的现实，根植于我们自身革命斗争的丰富经验和传统。重新发现社会主义的民主价值，强调群众特别是广大工人的民主参与，既是南非共产党反思苏东剧变的结果，也是其以实用主义态度适应南非政治现实的体现。

(II) Building a “Mass Vanguard Party”

（二）建设“群众性的先锋党”

Before 1990, the SACP was illegal. The Party’s mode of activity under this condition placed high demands on the quality of its members and did not extensively recruit members among the masses. After the lifting of the ban in 1990, the SACP regained legal status and began actively and openly conducting political activities. The number of Party members rapidly increased; in just the period from January to November 1992, membership grew from 5,000 to 21,000. Faced with the rapid expansion of political space for activity, a debate emerged within the SACP over whether to build a “vanguard party” or a “mass party.” In response, the SACP believed that to adapt to the development of the new situation, it was necessary to build itself into a “mass vanguard party,” making the Party both representative at the grassroots level and maintaining its vanguard nature, and that this vanguard should always be the “political vanguard of the working class.”

1990年之前，南非共产党处于非法状态，党在这种状态的活动方式对党员的质量要求较高，亦未在群众中广泛发展党员。1990年解除党禁后，南非共产党恢复合法状态，开始积极公开地开展政治活动。党员数量迅速攀升，仅1992年1—11月，就由5000名党员增长到了21000名党员。面对政治活动空间的迅速拓展，南非共产党党内出现了建设“先锋党”还是“群众党”的争论。对此，南非共产党认为，为适应新形势的发展，有必要将自己建设成一个“群众性的先锋党”，使党既有基层代表性，又保持先锋队的性质，而这个先锋队应始终是“工人阶级的政治先锋队”。

The working class is the political foundation for the survival and development of the SACP, and safeguarding the interests of the working class is its strategic pursuit. Since the 1980s, South Africa’s economic crisis had increased the complexity of the working class, with a large unemployed population becoming a significant component of the South African working class. In the early 1990s, South Africa had approximately over 7 million unemployed people. Although the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the SACP’s political ally, held strategic importance, its membership constituted only a minority of the South African working class. The vast majority, 70% of South African workers, were marginalized, including unskilled workers not in unions, most migrants, rural laborers, workers in the informal economy, and the unemployed. Faced with this situation, how could the interests of the working class be maximally safeguarded? The strategic choice made by the SACP was to develop Party organizations in major industrial centers, focusing on recruiting organized industrial workers as Party members. For the marginalized majority of workers, its strategy was to support the ANC in enacting policies favorable to these workers, thereby safeguarding the overall interests of the working class. In the Party’s view, this was the optimal choice for maximizing output using limited resources. From the above analysis, it is not difficult to see that with the initiation of South Africa’s democratic transition process, the SACP expanded the scope of member recruitment and began to transform into a mass party. However, at the same time, its focus remained on organized industrial workers, which was also a manifestation of the SACP as a “vanguard party.”

工人阶级是南非共产党生存和发展的政治基础，维护工人阶级的利益是其战略追求。20世纪80年代以来，南非的经济危机增加了工人阶级的复杂性，其中庞大的失业人口成为南非工人阶级的重要组成部分。20世纪90年代初，南非大约有700多万的失业人口。南非共产党的政治盟友南非工会大会虽然具有战略上的重要性，但是其会员在南非工人阶级中仅占少数。占南非工人70%的绝大多数工人处于边缘地位，包括没有加入工会的非熟练工人、多数的移民、乡村劳工、非正规经济部门的就业人口以及失业人员等。面对这样一种现状，如何才能最大限度地维护工人阶级的利益？南非共产党作出的战略抉择是，在主要的工业中心发展党组织，聚焦于有组织的产业工人发展党员。对于那些处于边缘地位的占多数的工人，其策略是通过支持非国大使其出台向这些工人倾斜的政策，维护工人阶级的整体利益。在该党看来，这是利用有限资源实现产出最大化的最优选择。通过以上分析不难发现，随着南非民主转型进程的启动，南非共产党扩大了党员招募的范围，开始向群众性政党转变，但与此同时，其关注的重点依然是有组织的产业工人，这也是南非共产党作为“先锋党”的一种体现。

(III) Building the Communist Party within the Broad National Liberation Movement

（三）在广泛的民族解放运动中建设共产党

In the long struggle against apartheid, the South African Communist Party (SACP) integrated national and class issues, putting forward the theory of a "two-stage revolution." Guided by this theory, it actively developed cooperation with national liberation organizations, especially the African National Congress (ANC), and played an important role in South Africa's national liberation movement. For this reason, the party has always regarded itself as an important component of the national liberation movement. After the launch of South Africa's democratic transition in 1990, the ANC, as the leading force of the national liberation movement, and the National Party, as the ruling party, dominated the negotiation process. Faced with the political reality that the ANC was about to take power after democratic consultations, how to handle relations with national liberation organizations such as the ANC and how to build socialism in the post-apartheid era became major theoretical and practical issues that the SACP had to address. In response to these issues, the SACP chose to remain within the ANC-led national liberation movement and the broader mass democratic movement to strengthen Party building. In its view, this was a significant advantage in its struggle for the socialist revolution.

在长期的反种族隔离斗争中，南非共产党将民族问题与阶级问题相融合，提出“两个阶段革命”的理论，并以此为指导，积极发展与民族解放组织特别是非国大的合作，在南非民族解放运动中发挥了重要作用。正因为如此，该党一直将自身视为民族解放运动的重要组成部分。1990年南非民主转型启动后，民族解放运动的领导力量非国大与南非执政党国民党主导了谈判进程。面对民主协商后非国大即将执政的政治现实，如何处理与非国大等民族解放组织的关系、如何在后种族隔离时代建设社会主义，成为南非共产党必须予以回应的重大理论和实践课题。针对这一问题，南非共产党选择留在非国大领导的民族解放运动以及更为广泛的大众民主运动中加强党的建设。在它看来，这是其追求社会主义革命斗争的巨大优势。

Based on the political reality of belonging to the same mass democratic movement, the SACP emphasized the need to avoid developing narrow, competitive, or duplicative functions. The SACP's task was not to do everything the ANC did, but to exert a left-wing influence on the ANC. In November 1990, SACP leader Jeremy Cronin stated in an interview that the SACP would certainly not become an opposition force, as this would weaken the ongoing national democratic transition and, in the long run, would also weaken the socialist cause. The SACP's task was to build a progressive, working-class-led ANC and ensure that the ANC did not oppose communism. Although the SACP regarded supporting and influencing the ANC as an important path to achieving socialism in the future, it did not rule out the possibility of participating independently in elections. If the national liberation movement were hijacked by a liberal agenda, if the unity of the mass democratic movement were undermined and it lost the goal of the national democratic revolution, then the SACP would choose to participate in elections as an independent political force. However, until such circumstances arose, the SACP would continue to support the ANC-led national liberation movement as always and strengthen its own building within this movement. Against this backdrop, the SACP chose to continue strengthening cooperation with political forces such as the ANC and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and fully supported the ANC in South Africa's first non-racial democratic elections in 1994, without participating independently in the election campaign.

基于同属于大众民主运动的政治现实，南非共产党强调要竭力避免发展狭隘的、竞争性的、重复性的功能。南非共产党不是要去做非国大所做的一切，而是要对非国大施加左翼的影响。1990年11月，南非共产党领导人杰里米·克罗宁（Jeremy Cronin）在接受采访时表示，南非共产党一定不会成为反对力量，这将削弱正在进行中的民族民主转型，从长期来看也会削弱社会主义事业。南非共产党的任务是建设一个进步的、以工人阶级为主导的非国大，确保非国大不反对共产主义。南非共产党虽然将支持和影响非国大作为未来实现社会主义的重要路径，但是并没有排除独立参与选举的可能性。如果民族解放运动被自由主义事业所绑架，如果大众民主运动的团结遭到破坏并且失去了民族民主革命的目标，那么南非共产党便会选择作为一支独立的政治力量参与竞选。但是在以上情况出现之前，南非共产党会一如既往地支持非国大领导的民族解放运动，并在这一运动中加强自身建设。在此背景下，南非共产党选择继续强化与非国大、南非工会大会等政治力量的合作，并在1994年南非首次非种族民主大选中全面支持非国大，而没有独立地参与竞选。

Overall, from the lifting of the ban on the party in 1990 to the holding of South Africa's first non-racial democratic elections in 1994, the SACP withstood the major tests of the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and South Africa's democratic transition. Through in-depth reflection on socialist ideology, it clarified its nature as a "mass vanguard party" and emphasized continuing to pursue the value goal of socialism by supporting the ANC and the national liberation movement. The SACP's continuation of its historical traditions and its strategic adjustments under the new conditions of the times were the fundamental reasons for its survival and its ability to play an important role in the process of South Africa's political transformation. As one scholar commented: after gaining legal status in 1990, the SACP successively achieved two major leaps—transforming from an illegal party to a legal party and from an opposition party to an important participating party. Its strength and influence continued to grow, and it continued to adopt a strategy of cooperation with the ruling ANC. A large number of its members also held important leadership positions in the ANC or COSATU, becoming a force that could not be ignored in South African political life, and playing an important role in South Africa's deracialization, peaceful democratic change, and addressing the impoverishment of the working class.

总体来看，从1990年解除党禁到1994年南非举行首次非种族民主大选这段时间，南非共产党经受住了苏东剧变、南非民主转型的重大考验，通过对社会主义意识形态的深入反思，明确了建设“群众性先锋党”的性质定位，强调继续通过支持非国大和民族解放运动来追求实现社会主义的价值目标。南非共产党对历史传统的延续及其在新的时代条件下作出的策略调整，是其在南非政治转型进程中生存下来并发挥重要作用的根本原因。正如有学者所评价的：在 1990 年取得合法地位后, 南非共产党先后实现了由非法政党向合法政党和由在野党向重要参政党转型的两大飞跃，其力量和影响不断壮大，并继续采取与执政党非国大合作的斗争策略。该党大批党员也都担任了非国大或南非工会大会的重要领导职务，成为南非政治生活中不可小视的力量，并在南非非种族化、和平民主变革、解决工人阶级贫困化等方面发挥了重要作用。

III. The SACP's Exploration of Socialism in the Post-Apartheid Era

三、后种族隔离时代南非共产党对社会主义的探索

In April 1994, South Africa held its first non-racial democratic elections in its history. The ANC won the election with 63% of the vote, becoming the ruling party and ushering in a new era in South Africa's political development. Since 1994, the SACP has experienced five general elections, with the ANC winning each time and maintaining its ruling status, forming a party pattern where one party dominates and other parties cannot challenge it. Theoretically, this party pattern created favorable conditions for the SACP to pursue the value goal of socialism by relying on the tripartite alliance and the mass democratic movement. Although the SACP adheres to the theory of a "two-stage revolution," the national democratic revolution and the socialist revolution are not separate but interconnected. After the democratic transition in 1994, although South Africa achieved victory in the first stage of the national democratic revolution, the traditional economic structure remained unchanged, and the majority of Black people remained economically marginalized. Against this backdrop, South Africa entered the second stage of the national democratic revolution, that is, pursuing economic liberation on the basis of political liberation. In the SACP's view, the process of the national democratic revolution needs to incorporate socialist elements to promote the transition from the national democratic revolution to the socialist revolution. Judging from the practice of South Africa's political development since 1994, the SACP has generally continued its strategic alliance with the ANC and COSATU, and believes that this alliance remains an effective path for pursuing its socialist value goals. The core of this strategy is to influence the decisions of the ANC government through participation, making national policies socialist-oriented and striving to safeguard the interests of the working class and the poor. Specifically, the party's exploration of the socialist path has mainly unfolded in three aspects.

1994年4月，南非举行该国历史上首次非种族民主大选，非国大以63%的得票率赢得选举胜利，成为执政党，开启了南非政治发展的新纪元。1994年以来，南非共经历五次大选，非国大赢得历次选举，一直维持执政地位，形成了一党占据主导地位、其他政党无法对其构成挑战的政党格局。从理论上讲，这种政党格局为南非共产党依托三方联盟和大众民主运动追求社会主义的价值目标创造了有利条件。虽然南非共产党坚持“两个阶段革命”的理论，但是民族民主革命与社会主义革命并不是割裂的，而是相互联系的。1994年民主转型后，南非虽然实现了民族民主革命第一阶段的胜利，但是传统的经济结构并未改变，广大黑人在经济上依然处于边缘地位。在此背景下，南非迈入民族民主革命的第二阶段，即在政治解放的基础上追求经济上的解放。在南非共产党看来，民族民主革命的过程需要注入社会主义的因素，以推动民族民主革命向社会主义革命的过渡。从1994年以来南非政治发展的实践来看，南非共产党总体上延续了与非国大、南非工会大会的战略联盟，并认为这一联盟当下依然是自身追求社会主义价值目标的有效途径。这一战略的核心就是通过参与和影响非国大政府的决策，使国家政策以社会主义为导向，努力维护工人阶级和贫困群体的利益。具体而言，该党对社会主义道路的探索主要从三个方面展开。

(1) Participating in Governance

（一）参与执政

Since 1994, the SACP has participated in the construction of state power by relying on its strategic alliance with the ruling ANC. The SACP does not directly participate in elections; it gives full support to the ANC in every general election. After the elections, its members enter public institutions such as the cabinet, parliament, and local governments under the banner of the ANC. Participating in governance has also become the most direct way for the party to share state power and influence the decisions of the ANC government. Judging from the historical development process after 1994, the party's sharing of state power and its influence on ANC government decisions have been uneven. After the 1994 general election, the SACP's influence in state power institutions was quite extensive. At that time, among the 18 cabinet positions, the party held 5 cabinet posts, had approximately 51 seats in the National Assembly (about 13% of all seats), maintained roughly this proportion in provincial legislatures, and 2 of South Africa's 9 provinces had SACP members as premiers. The SACP's extensive presence in the government and parliament enabled it to exert significant influence on the policy planning of the ANC government.

自1994年以来，南非共产党依托与执政党非国大的战略联盟关系参与政权建设。南非共产党不直接参与竞选，在历次大选中都给予非国大全面支持，大选后党的成员以非国大的名义进入内阁、议会、地方政府等公共机构任职。参与执政也成为该党分享国家权力和影响非国大政府决策的最直接途径。从1994年后的历史发展进程来看，该党对国家权力的分享和对非国大政府决策的影响并不均衡。1994年大选结束后，南非共产党在国家权力机构中的影响相当广泛。在当时的18个内阁职位中，该党占据了5个内阁职位，在国民议会中大约拥有51个席位（占全部议席的13%），在省议会中也大致维持了这一比例，同时在南非9个省中有2个省的省长系南非共成员。南非共产党在政府、议会中的广泛存在可以使其对非国大政府的政策规划产生了巨大影响。

During the Mbeki era, the ANC government adopted many policies with liberal characteristics, such as privatizing some state-owned enterprises, relaxing regulation of financial markets, and weakening the government's regulatory role in the market. These measures were strongly opposed by the SACP, and many of its members were consequently excluded from the decision-making of the Mbeki government, straining the relationship between the party and the ANC for a time. After Mbeki resigned in 2007, the SACP's influence on the ANC government gradually increased. Especially after the 2009 general election, the party maintained a good relationship with the Zuma government. A large number of SACP members were placed in key interconnected departments such as the economy, infrastructure, rural development, and skills training. They successfully promoted the development of a series of economic infrastructure and related departments, particularly pushing forward policy plans such as the New Growth Path and the Industrial Policy Action Plan, and in 2011, promoted the establishment of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission. Guided by the concept of a developmental state, the ANC government continuously strengthened the functions and role of the state, and its overall development direction aligned with the policy preferences of the SACP.

姆贝基执政时期，非国大政府采取了诸多带有自由主义色彩的政策，如对一些国有企业进行私有化、放松对金融市场的监管、弱化政府对市场的调节作用等。这些举措遭到南非共产党的强烈反对，许多党员也因此被排除在姆贝基政府的决策之外，党与非国大的关系一度受到冲击。2007年姆贝基辞职后，南非共产党对非国大政府的影响逐步增强。特别是2009年大选后，该党与祖马政府维持了良好关系，一大批南非共产党党员被安排在经济、基础设施、乡村发展、技能培训等相互联系的关键部门，他们成功地推动了一系列经济基础设施及相关部门的发展，特别是推动出台了新增长道路、工业政策行动计划等政策规划，并于2011年推动设立了总统基础设施协调委员会。非国大政府以发展型国家理念为指导，不断强化国家的功能与作用，其总体的发展方向符合南非共产党的政策偏好。

In July 2017, the South African Communist Party (SACP) held its 14th National Congress, electing a new central leadership body (2017–2022), with Blade Nzimande as General Secretary and Senzeni Zokwana as National Chairperson. After the 2019 general election, a large number of the party’s members entered the Ramaphosa government to hold leadership positions, especially in departments directly related to people’s livelihoods and the interests of the working class, such as education, employment, mineral resources, agricultural development, and trade and industry. The SACP was able to use its cabinet positions to exert key influence. The African National Congress (ANC) explicitly defines itself in its constitution as “a democratic liberation movement upholding non-racialism and non-sexism.” Therefore, “movement” becomes the core characteristic of the ANC, meaning that what the ANC pursues is not merely becoming a political party supported by the populace, but a movement with broad popular participation. The ANC is not a political party representing the interests of a single class or stratum, but a political home for various nationalists, Africanists, socialists with progressive ideological inclinations, and various classes and strata committed to pursuing national democratic transformation. It is precisely based on this attribute of a “broad church” that the ANC is influenced by various ideologies and political currents. The SACP supports the ANC and participates in the government led by the ANC, with the goal of steering the ANC toward a left-wing line, injecting socialist factors into the decision-making of the ANC government, thereby promoting the construction of a national democratic society toward a socialist direction.

2017年7月，南非共产党召开第14次全国代表大会，选举产生新一届中央领导机构（2017—2022年），总书记为布莱德·恩齐曼迪（Blade Nzimande），全国主席为森泽尼·佐夸纳（Senzeni Zokwana）。2019年大选后，该党大批党员进入拉马福萨政府担任领导职务，特别是在教育、就业、矿产资源、农业发展、贸易工业等与民生和工人阶级利益直接相关的部门，南非共产党可以利用内阁职位发挥关键影响。非国大在党章中明确将自身界定为“秉持非种族主义和非性别主义的民主解放运动”。因此，“运动”成为非国大的核心特征，即非国大所追求的不仅仅是成为得到民众支持的政党，而且是民众广泛参与的运动。非国大不是代表某一阶级或阶层利益的政党，而是各种具有进步意识形态倾向的民族主义者、非洲主义者、社会主义者以及承诺追求民族民主转型的各种阶级和阶层的政治家园。正是基于这种“大教会”（broad church）的属性，非国大会受到各种意识形态和政治思潮的影响。南非共产党支持非国大、参与非国大领导的政府，其目标就是使非国大走左翼路线，给非国大政府决策注入社会主义因素，从而推动民族民主社会建设向社会主义方向发展。

(II) Reshaping the Alliance

（二）重塑联盟

The Tripartite Alliance formed by the ANC, the SACP, and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) during the apartheid era was continued after South Africa’s democratic transition and transformed into a governing alliance. The Tripartite Alliance is a highly distinctive political organization formed under special historical conditions. Its core objective is to carry out a national democratic revolution, dismantle colonialism and the apartheid system, and thereby build a democratic, equal, and commonly prosperous society without racial and gender discrimination. In terms of its nature, the Tripartite Alliance is an organic strategic alliance, not a simple electoral coalition. Within it, the ANC plays a leadership role, the SACP acts as the vanguard of the working class, and COSATU is the organizational form of the workers’ movement. The Tripartite Alliance is therefore regarded as a representative of left-wing progressive forces. In the national democratic revolution, the ANC assumes the organizational leadership role, while the working class, as the main driving force, undertakes the role of class leadership. As the “strategic political center” of the national democratic revolution, the Tripartite Alliance played a key role in overthrowing the apartheid system. However, after South Africa’s democratic transition, the ANC became the dominant ruling party, and the role of the Tripartite Alliance as a strategic political center was weakened. Especially during the Mbeki administration, government decision-making was eroded by neoliberal ideology, the influence of the SACP and COSATU on government decisions declined, and their contradictions with the Mbeki government intensified. Against this backdrop, the Tripartite Alliance increasingly fell into a state of dysfunction. To address this crisis, the SACP, on the one hand, actively explored the possibility of participating in elections independently, and on the other hand, put the issue of alliance reshaping on the agenda. In 2007, at its National Congress, the SACP pointed out that to advance, deepen, and safeguard the national democratic revolution, and to achieve the medium-term goal of building working-class hegemony in all power organs, including the state, it was necessary to reshape the alliance. Alliance reshaping must include two aspects: first, building itself into a strategic political center; second, this political center must have the ability to formulate strategy, influence policy, launch campaigns, deploy cadres, and assume responsibility. In December 2007, Zuma was elected Party President at the ANC’s 52nd National Congress, which opened up political space for the reshaping of the Tripartite Alliance. In May 2008, the Alliance held a summit. Based on summarizing historical experiences and lessons, it established the Alliance Political Council, which became a permanent platform for alliance partners to negotiate on policy issues. The Alliance Political Council could also, through the Alliance Secretariat, establish corresponding working groups around specific issues or areas, creating conditions for effectively carrying out work and achieving goals.

种族隔离时期非国大与南非共产党、南非工会大会结成的三方联盟在南非实现民主转型后得到延续，并转化成执政联盟。三方联盟是在特殊历史条件下形成的极具特色的政治组织，其核心目标是通过开展民族民主革命，破除殖民主义和种族隔离制度，进而建设一个没有种族歧视和性别歧视的民主、平等与共同繁荣的社会。从性质上来讲，三方联盟是一个有机的战略联盟，而不是简单的选举同盟，其中非国大在三方联盟中扮演着领导角色，南非共产党充当工人阶级先锋队角色，南非工会大会则是工人运动的组织形式，三方联盟因此被视为左翼进步力量的代表。在民族民主革命中，非国大承担组织上的领导角色，工人阶级作为主要的驱动力量承担着阶级领导的角色。三方联盟作为民族民主革命的“战略性政治中心”，在推翻种族隔离制度过程中发挥了关键作用。然而，南非实现民主转型后，非国大成为占主导地位的执政党，三方联盟战略性政治中心的作用遭到弱化。特别是姆贝基执政时期，政府决策受到新自由主义意识形态侵蚀，南非共产党、南非工会大会对政府决策的影响有所下降，它们与姆贝基政府的矛盾加剧。在此背景下，三方联盟日趋陷入功能紊乱的状态。为应对这一危机，南非共产党一方面积极探讨独立参与竞选的可能性，另一方面将联盟重塑问题提上日程。2007年，南非共产党在其全国代表大会上指出，如果要推进、深化和维护民族民主革命，实现在包括国家在内的所有权力机构中建设工人阶级主导权的中期目标，就需要对联盟进行重塑。联盟重塑必须包括两个方面：一是将自身打造为战略性的政治中心；二是这个政治中心必须有能力制定战略、影响政策、开展运动、部署干部和承担责任。2007年12月，祖马在非国大第52次全国代表大会上当选党主席，这为三方联盟的重塑开辟了政治空间。2008年5月，联盟召开峰会，在总结历史经验与教训的基础上，创设联盟政治委员会（Alliance Political Council），该机构成为联盟伙伴围绕政策问题展开协商的常设平台。联盟政治委员会还可通过联盟秘书处，围绕具体问题或者领域建立相应工作组，为有效开展工作和实现目标创造条件。

From 2008 to 2015, because the SACP and COSATU believed that a new political climate had emerged, discussions within these two major political forces on the issue of alliance reshaping subsided. However, after 2015, around the issues of corruption and “state capture,” factional struggles within the ANC intensified, and the ANC’s image among voters was weakened. In the 2016 South African local elections, the ANC suffered a “Waterloo,” losing governing power in metropolitan areas such as Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Nelson Mandela Bay, facing its most severe governance crisis since 1994. Faced with this problem, calls within the SACP for independent participation in elections rose again, and the issue of alliance reshaping was once again put on the agenda. In March 2017, SACP General Secretary Nzimande stated, “Factionalism is destroying the Alliance,” “We are not allies of a certain faction of the ANC, but allies of the ANC.” With Ramaphosa’s election as Party President at the ANC’s 54th National Congress in December 2017, alliance reshaping encountered a new opportunity. Since 2018, the SACP, COSATU, and the ANC have successively issued position papers on the issue of alliance reshaping to explain their respective views. After repeated discussions and close consultations, the three parties issued “Towards a Reshaped Alliance: A Common Platform for Alliance Reshaping” at the end of 2019, unanimously agreeing that alliance reshaping is a continuously deepening process, not an isolated event; the core issue of alliance reshaping is maintaining unity and organizational renewal, and continuously adjusting with the development of the times; the three parties committed to building the Alliance Political Council into a consultative body and successful model for seeking consensus.

2008—2015年，由于南非共产党和南非工会大会认为一种新的政治气候已经出现，所以这两大政治力量内部关于联盟重塑问题的讨论有所消退。然而，2015年后围绕腐败和“国家俘获”（state capture）问题，非国大内部的派系之争有所加剧，非国大在选民中的形象遭到弱化。在2016年南非地方选举中，非国大遭遇“滑铁卢”，失去在约翰内斯堡、茨瓦内、纳尔逊·曼德拉湾等大都市区的执政权，面临自1994年以来最为严重的执政危机。面对这一问题，南非共产党内部关于独立参与竞选的呼声再次高涨，联盟重塑问题也再次提上日程。2017年3月，南非共产党总书记恩齐曼迪表示，“派系主义正在摧毁联盟”，“我们不是非国大某个派系的盟友，而是非国大的盟友”。随着2017年12月拉马福萨在非国大第54次全国代表大会上当选党主席，联盟重塑迎来新契机。2018年以来，南非共产党、南非工会大会和非国大相继就联盟重塑问题发表了立场文件，以阐释各自在联盟重塑问题上的观点。经过反复讨论和密切协商，三方于2019年底发表《迈向重塑的联盟：一个共同的联盟重塑平台》，一致认为联盟重塑是一个不断深入的过程，而不是一个孤立的事件，联盟重塑的核心问题是保持团结与组织更新，并随时代的发展不断调整；三方承诺，要将联盟政治委员会打造为寻求共识的协商机构和成功模式。

Looking at the process of reshaping the Tripartite Alliance, consensus among alliance partners on some issues has been significantly strengthened. Institutional arrangements such as the Alliance Summit, the Alliance Political Council, and the Alliance Secretariat have provided effective platforms for alliance partners to strengthen consultation, and the institutionalization level of the alliance has been notably enhanced. From the SACP’s perspective, to achieve the transition from a national democratic revolution to socialism, it is necessary to strengthen the role of the Tripartite Alliance. By reshaping the alliance, its influence on the ANC’s election platform, government decision-making, parliamentary legislation, and the deployment of cadres in public institutions can be increased. The leadership of COSATU and the SACP believe that the current strategic priority is not to leave the alliance, but on the contrary, to strengthen the presence of the proletariat within the alliance and the ANC, which has proven to be a correct choice. Relying on the reshaped Tripartite Alliance to actively promote the construction of a national democratic society becomes a necessary prerequisite and important foundation for moving towards a socialist society.

从三方联盟的重塑进程来看，联盟伙伴在一些问题上的共识得到了明显增强，联盟峰会、联盟政治委员会、联盟秘书处等制度安排为联盟伙伴加强协商提供了有效平台，联盟的机制化水平显著提升。在南非共产党看来，要实现从民族民主革命向社会主义的过渡，必须强化三方联盟的作用，通过重塑联盟，提高联盟对非国大竞选纲领、政府决策、国会立法以及公共机构干部部署等的影响力。南非工会大会和南非共产党的领导层相信，当前的战略要务不是离开联盟，而是相反，要加强无产阶级在联盟和非国大中的存在，这被证实是一种正确的选择。依托重塑的三方联盟，积极推动建设民族民主社会，成为迈向社会主义社会的必要前提和重要基础。

(III) Launching Campaigns

（三）开展运动

While relying on the tripartite alliance to participate in national governance, the South African Communist Party (SACP) has continuously strengthened its ties with the working class and the broad masses of the poor, exerting influence on government decision-making through launching mass movements, thereby steering national policy directions toward the interests and demands of the working class and the poor. During the apartheid era, the party was suppressed by the white regime and could not exist as a legal party within South Africa, which objectively limited its close connection with the masses. In the early 1990s, South Africa initiated a process of democratic transition, opening up political space for the SACP to forge close ties with the masses. It was against this backdrop that the party achieved its transformation into a "mass-type" party. The SACP actively initiated mass movements, relying on the power of the masses to drive South Africa's democratic transition. At the time, the then-General Secretary of the SACP, Chris Hani, launched the "3H" (Health, Housing, and Hunger) campaign. This early political movement had a tremendous impact on the African National Congress (ANC) election manifesto, the "Reconstruction and Development Programme" (RDP), in 1994, ensuring that in the early years of its governance, the ANC government adopted a redistributive approach, channeling substantial funds into basic livelihood security areas such as housing, healthcare, and medical services.

南非共产党在依托三方联盟参与国家治理的同时，不断密切与工人阶级和广大穷人的联系，通过开展群众运动向政府决策施加影响，从而使国家的政策导向符合工人阶级和广大穷人的利益诉求。种族隔离时期，该党遭到白人政权的打压，无法作为合法政党在南非境内存在，这客观限制了该党与群众的密切联系。20世纪90年代初，南非启动民主转型进程，为南非共产党密切联系群众开辟了政治空间。正是在此背景下，该党实现了向“群众型”政党的转变。南非共产党积极发起群众运动，依靠群众力量推动南非实现民主转型进程。时任南非共产党的总书记哈尼曾发起“3H”（医疗、住房和饥饿）运动，这一早期的政治运动对1994年非国大的竞选纲领“重建与发展计划”产生了巨大影响，确保非国大政府在执政初期以重新分配的方式将大量资金投入到住房、医疗卫生等基本民生保障领域。

After the ANC came to power, although the SACP became a party participating in government, its influence on ANC government decision-making did not rely solely on this channel of participation. In the party's view, state power is the central issue of all revolutions; state power is distributed across different domains, including the executive, legislature, judiciary, state security, state-owned enterprises, and public institutions. Electoral politics is important, but it is not the only way to strive for state power.

非国大执政后，南非共产党虽然成为参政党，但是其对非国大政府决策的影响并不仅仅依靠参政这一渠道。在该党看来，国家权力是所有革命的中心问题，国家权力分布在不同领域，包括行政、立法、司法、国家安全、国有企业、公共机构等；选举政治重要，但并不是争取国家权力的唯一途径。

Through political mobilization and mass movements, state power can also be acquired. The Red October Campaign, developed from the foundation of the "3H" movement, is the main channel through which the SACP mobilizes the masses around specific issues. Since 1994, through the Red October Campaign, the SACP has achieved a series of notable results in areas such as promoting financial sector transformation, accelerating the land reform process, building a public healthcare system, and combating corruption. Taking the public healthcare system as an example, since 2007, the party has launched a series of mass movements around healthcare reform, pushing the ANC government to introduce the National Health Insurance (NHI) plan, whose goal is to achieve universal health coverage for all citizens, thereby changing the severely unbalanced distribution of healthcare resources. The South African Department of Health drafted the National Health Insurance Bill in June 2018, and it was submitted to the National Assembly for discussion in August 2019. According to the National Health Insurance Bill, South Africa will establish a "National Health Insurance Fund" to provide free healthcare services to all citizens.

通过开展政治动员和群众运动，同样可以获取国家权力。在“3H”运动基础上发展起来的红色十月运动（Red October Campaign）是南非共产党围绕具体议题发动群众的主渠道。1994年以来，南非共产党通过红色十月运动，在推动金融部门转型、加速土地改革进程、构建公费医疗体系、打击腐败等领域取得一系列显著成效。以公费医疗体系为例，2007年以来该党围绕医疗卫生改革发起一系列群众运动，推动非国大政府引入全国医疗保险（National Health Insurance）计划，其目标是实现针对全体国民的普遍医疗覆盖，以改变医疗卫生资源分配严重不平衡的现状。南非卫生部于2018年6月起草《全国医疗保险法案》（National Health Insurance Bill），并于2019年8月提交国民议会讨论。根据《全国医疗保险法案》，南非将建立“全国医疗保险基金”，以向全体国民提供免费医疗卫生服务。

From a practical perspective, the mass movements initiated by the SACP can produce effects in the following areas: first, strengthening party-mass relations and recruiting masses to join the SACP during the process of conducting political movements; second, disseminating communist ideals, exposing the drawbacks and defects of the capitalist system, and strengthening ideological education for the party's cadres and members; third, relying on mass movements to influence government decision-making on certain issues, ensuring that government policies and national legislation are oriented towards safeguarding the interests of the working class and the broad masses of the poor. The former General Secretary of the SACP, Chris Hani, repeatedly stated that socialism must not be seen as a distant, abstract utopia; socialism is not an exaggeration, but a very basic matter—nutritious food, decent housing, safe drinking water, and accessible healthcare services. It is in this sense that the SACP believes the construction of socialism should begin in the present. During the stage of the national democratic revolution, by conducting political movements to meet the basic needs of the people, this naturally becomes the fundamental path for the party to explore the construction of socialism.

从实践层面来看，南非共产党发起的群众运动可以产生如下几个方面的效果：一是密切党群关系，在开展政治运动的过程中，招募群众加入南非共产党；二是传播共产主义理念，揭露资本主义制度的弊端与缺陷，强化对广大党员干部的意识形态教育；三是依托群众运动，在某些议题上影响政府决策，使政府政策和国家立法以维护工人阶级和广大穷人利益为导向。南非共产党的前总书记哈尼曾一再表示，一定不能把社会主义看做是遥不可及的、抽象的乌托邦；社会主义不是夸大之词，而是非常基本的事情——营养丰富的食品、体面的居住环境、安全的饮用水以及可获得的医疗卫生服务。正是从这种意义上讲，南非共产党认为建设社会主义应始于当下。在民族民主革命阶段，通过开展政治运动，满足人民群众的基本需求，自然成为该党探索建设社会主义的基本途径。

IV. Conclusion

四、结语

Over its century-long historical journey, guided by theories such as "colonialism of a special type" and the "two-stage revolution," the SACP has formed a strategic alliance with political forces such as the ANC and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and has sustained this tripartite alliance into the post-apartheid era. This tripartite alliance, a unique form of political organization, provides an institutional guarantee for the SACP to participate in political processes such as government decision-making, national legislation, and local governance. The SACP has actively utilized the political space opened up by the democratic transition to build itself into a socialist party with over 300,000 members. In terms of scale, it has become the second-largest party after the ANC. Since the democratic transition in 1994, the core strategy of the SACP has been to rely on the tripartite alliance to promote the second stage of the radical national democratic revolution, thereby laying the foundation for advancing towards a socialist society. For this strategy to be effective, it requires both the organizational leadership of the ANC and the working class as a whole to play its role as the leading class. However, in recent years, the two main forces upon which the party relies to expand its influence—the ANC and COSATU—have both encountered severe difficulties. On the one hand, the ANC is deeply troubled by internal factional strife and corruption issues; its position in South Africa's party landscape is on a declining trend, and its leadership capacity has weakened. On the other hand, COSATU has experienced fragmentation, and the fragmentation of the working class is severe, posing a serious challenge to the party's goal of building a "unified trade union alliance."

在百年历史征程中，南非共产党在“特殊类型殖民主义”和“两个阶段革命”等理论指导下，与非国大、南非工会大会等政治力量结成战略联盟，并将三方联盟在后种族隔离时代延续下来。三方联盟这一特殊的政治组织形式为南非共产党参与政府决策、国家立法、地方治理等政治进程提供了制度保障。南非共产党积极利用民主转型开辟的政治空间，将自身打造成为拥有30余万名党员的社会主义政党。从规模上看，该党已成为仅次于非国大的第二大党。自1994年民主转型以来，南非共产党的核心战略是，依托三方联盟推动开展第二阶段激进的民族民主革命，进而为迈向社会主义社会奠定基础。这一战略发挥效力既需要非国大组织层面的领导力，也需要工人阶级作为一个整体发挥领导阶级作用。然而，近年来，该党拓展影响所依靠的两大力量——非国大与南非工会大会都遭遇了严重困境。一方面，非国大深受内部派系之争和腐败问题困扰，其在南非政党格局中的地位呈衰退性走势，领导力有所下降；另一方面，南非工会大会产生分化，工人阶级碎片化现象严重，这对该党打造“统一的工会联盟”目标带来严峻挑战。

In view of this, the SACP is actively promoting the ANC's capacity building and the reshaping of the tripartite alliance, attempting to deepen the second stage of the radical national democratic revolution by revitalizing the ANC's revolutionary vitality and enhancing the role of the tripartite alliance. At the same time, the party is also actively exploring ways to participate independently in elections to address the risks and challenges brought about by political developments. Some scholars believe that no matter how close the alliance relationship between the SACP and the ANC is maintained, the two sides will inevitably fall into increasing conflicts over goals and methods sooner or later. In the long run, the ANC's goal is to build a national democratic society, while the SACP's goal is to build a socialist society. However, from the latter's perspective, building a national democratic society is an important foundation for building a socialist society. The intrinsic connection between the national democratic society and the socialist society provides a guarantee for the two major political forces to continue their strategic cooperation. Therefore, for now, the SACP will still choose to rely on the tripartite alliance to explore the construction of socialism. As for whether the SACP will ultimately abandon the alliance and embark on the path of independent participation in elections, this will depend on the development trend of the alliance partnership and the direction of the ANC, the leader of the national democratic revolution.

鉴于此，南非共产党积极推动非国大加强能力建设和重塑三方联盟，试图通过焕发非国大的革命活力、提升三方联盟作用，深入推进第二阶段激进的民族民主革命。与此同时，该党也在积极探索独立参与竞选的方式，以应对政治发展变化所带来的风险挑战。有学者认为，无论南非共产党与非国大维持着怎样密切的联盟关系，双方在目标与方法上迟早会陷入越来越多的冲突。从长期来看，非国大的目标是建设民族民主社会，而南非共产党的目标则是建设社会主义社会。但在后者看来，建设民族民主社会是建设社会主义社会的重要基础，民族民主社会与社会主义社会的内在联系为两大政治力量延续战略合作提供了保障。因此，目前看，南非共产党依然会选择依托三方联盟探索建设社会主义。至于南非共产党最终是否会放弃联盟、走上独立参与竞选的道路，则取决于联盟伙伴关系的发展态势以及民族民主革命领导者非国大的发展方向。

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