Lessons from the struggle: Tony Karon on democracy, apartheid and Palestine

Former activist and journalist Tony Karon revisited lessons from the anti‑apartheid struggle and applied them to contemporary debates about democracy and the conflict in Palestine, according to IOL.

From activist educator to international journalist

According to IOL, Karon said he edited an activist publication called New Era during the 1980s and was involved in political education and training of activists. He told the Crossing the Line podcast that those experiences shaped how he understands power and political struggle.

Why electoral democracy falls short

On the podcast, Karon argued that popular, grassroots forms of democracy were central to the ambitions of the anti‑apartheid movement and that contemporary electoral systems can overstate their transformative power.

“In South Africa there’s an over estimation of the power of electoral democracy. You elect representatives and come back in four years’ time and elect them again. This is not good enough.”

According to IOL, Karon said many young Africans now question the value of democracy and that “the most popular leader on the continent is Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso, who took power after a military coup in 2022.” He told the podcast that it is not straightforward to label democracy itself as the problem, but that expectations of a bottom‑up, working‑class democracy have been frustrated.

On the United States and his move to New York

According to IOL, Karon left South Africa to settle in New York in 1993 after what was supposed to be a short holiday presented him with job opportunities that he found difficult to refuse. He said his experience in the US altered his view of its democratic claims and institutions.

Palestine, apartheid and international solidarity

According to IOL, Karon said he is passionate about the need to end Israel’s genocide in Palestine. He also made a direct comparison between Israel and apartheid South Africa, saying:

“It is very clear to me that Israel is an apartheid regime, its alliance with apartheid South Africa was not coincidental, and those of us who fought against apartheid in South Africa, have to fight apartheid in Palestine also.”

What he wants readers to take away

Karon used his experience from decades of activism and journalism to urge attention to how power operates beyond representation and social media visibility. He emphasised the difference between being seen and dismantling entrenched systems of oppression, a theme he traced back to lessons from the struggle against apartheid, according to IOL.