The nation's story of unity wins out

THE idea is not new, but it is original in each situation it finds expression - the idea that it is by prominent narratives that are repeated everywhere and by many that a society develops a sense of self.

- RUDI BUYS

It is the idea that when the basic storylines with which major events are explained by different societal actors correspond across diverse environ-ments, they are taken to be the most true among several. It is their repetition that establishes their validity in the mind of the public.

As the number of role-players and respected voices that join in, repeat and add to the dominant narrative increases, a constellation of explana-tions and narratives and accompanying societal hierarchies emerge. The explanations of societal realities that gain the most traction and become dominant also determine who matters most as actors of the drama. How they tell the story provides a format and content or the ideological and policy perspectives with which citizens and the state address challenges - the very challenges that the dominant narratives foregrounded in the first place.