Overcoming Intolerance in South Africa investigates the degree to which the political culture of South Africa - the beliefs, values, and attitudes toward politics held by ordinary people - impedes or promotes the consolidation of democratic reform. One set of values is of particular concern in this study - political tolerance. The authors contend that political tolerance is a crucial element of democratic political cultures in general, but that in the South African case, tolerance is perhaps more important than any other democratic value. Since South Africa is one of the most polyglot countries in the world, the only viable strategy for survival is tolerance toward the political views of others. The overwhelming emphasis throughout this book is on finding ways to enhance the willingness of South Africans to 'put up with' their political enemies, to allow open and widespread political competition, and to coexist in their diversity.

Winner of the Alexander L. George book award (awarded by the International Society for Political Psychology) for the best book in the field of political psychology in 2003.

‘The irony of politics is that people may behave in an intolerant manner at a certain level, while being tolerant at another. Despite these complexities, the book successfully raises deep questions surrounding one of the prime qualities required of democratic culture. It ventures into new terrain in the context of South Africa, and it is bound to influence the mode of enquiry into this subject. It is a stimulating and thoughtful projection of how the post-apartheid South Africa looks and how it ought to be.’

Source: Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies

'From time to time there are works that change how we ought to think about important problems. James L. Gibson and Amanda Gouws' Overcoming Intolerance in South Africa is such a work … This is an original and fundamental contribution. It opens up a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the politics of tolerance once you accept the proposition that it is easier to dislodge those whose first reaction is to support the rights of controversial groups than to dislodge those whose first reaction is to reject them … Still major leaps forward usually look awkward from some angle. And Gibson and Gouws' Overcoming Intolerance in South Africa is a major leap forward.’

Source: The Journal of Politics

‘In Overcoming Intolerance in South Africa, Jim Gibson and Amanda Gouws have written what is, in at least one respect, a courageous book. It is courageous because it is in many ways pessimistic about the prospects for political tolerance (and therefore, they argue, for democratic consolidation) in post-apartheid South Africa … What I found instead was a creative, meticulous, and thoroughly honest depiction of the condition of mass political tolerance in South Africa, albeit one which paints a somewhat more dismal picture of the future than others might have it … While in its current form, Overcoming Intolerance may not satisfy some readers' desire for tales from places far away, its solid theoretical grounding, creative use of experimental designs in a survey context, and forthright (if a bit gloomy) conclusions are a model for research on acherontic outlook, the authors remain guardedly upbeat about the prospects for a tolerant, multiracial, democratic South Africa. One can but hope that their optimism is both warranted and realized.’

Source: Law and Politics Book Reviews

‘Although tolerance has been studied extensively in the United States and in a handful of other settings, James Gibson and Amanda Gouws' study of tolerance within newly democratic South Africa offers unique insight into the roots of tolerance and its fragility.’

Source: Perspectives on Politics

'The authors are serious political scientists who produced a carefully designed and evaluated survey instrument and conducted their research with numerous checks and balances so as not to misinterpret their findings or manipulate their respondents. This is a very important book.'

Source: Mail & Guardian