Political Socialization Essay

EXAMINE AND DISCUSS HOW AGENTS OF POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO NATION BUILDING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION
This essay is aimed to examine and discuss how agents of political socialization have contributed to nation building in South Africa. These agents are the ones that shaped the South African political context and their effectiveness will be assessed. The examination and discussion of our topic will be supported by analysis of South African politics, political culture, political behaviour and I will provide practical examples to support the analysis.
Political socialization
It is important to outline the definition of the term ‘political socialization, political philosophers define this term in different ways. For a better understanding of this term one should be familiar with the primary term which is

Gelles(1995) argued that ‘’the family has a fundamental role to play in nurturing and shaping these attitudes and behaviours in the formative life of the young child’’ .‘’Through socialization an infant is gradually transformed into a more or less knowledgeable, more or less cooperative member of society. Parents are the primary agents of socialization, and the family is the major setting for socialization’’ (Gelles:p290).
Family has always been the core of South African political socialization. During the apartheid evil rein the majority of citizens organized themselves to fight the apartheid regime and they did these by socializing their family members to supports them and the struggle. There are different families that can exemplify a family as an agent of political socialization. The Mandela family led by the late first democratic president was a perfect example of how a family can socialize its family members, most their family members were members of the African National