South Africa
March 2
Overview
1. The struggle against apartheid
2. The transition to democracy and the
election of the African National
Congress, 1994
3. Assessing post-apartheid South
Africa
Documentary on
the Anti-apartheid struggle
In the Name of Mandela: War and Peace
56 minutes
Available from York Library.
The struggle against apartheid
 The African National Congress (ANC)
was formed in 1912, it became a mass
membership organization in the 1940s.
 By the 1950s it was launching civil
disobedience actions to protest against
the apartheid regime.
 The ANC and allies drafted “The
Freedom Charter” in 1955 calling for a
democratic, multi-racial South Africa.
The struggle against apartheid
 Pan-Africanist Congress created, 1959
 Sharpeville Massacre, 1960
 Banning of African National Congress
and Pan-Africanist Congress, 1960
 Forced underground and facing a
violent police state, the ANC turned
to armed resistance and sabotage.
Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the
Nation) formed 1961.
 Nelson Mandela imprisoned, 1962
The struggle against apartheid
 Black Consciousness Movement
emerged in the late 60s and into the
1970s.
 From 1973 onward, black trade union
activism and strikes became a crucial
aspect of anti-apartheid struggle.
 Soweto Uprising, 1976
 Steve Biko killed in police custody,
1977
International Solidarity and
Sanctions
 Gerald Caplan, “Canada and Nelson
Mandela: The Story Behind the Myth,”
Globe and Mail. Feb. 26, 2010.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-andmandela-the-story-behind-the-myth/article1483186/#
International Solidarity and
Sanctions
 South Africa leaves the Commonwealth, 1961
 In 1962, the UN General Assembly passed a
resolution critical of apartheid.
 South Africa faced international criticism, but
economic relations were largely maintained
through the 60s and 70s.
 In the Cold War context, the racist South
African regime was an ally of the US (and
NATO) and the ANC was seen as a dangerous
“terrorist organization”.
International Solidarity and
Sanctions
 Mozambique, Angola and Rhodesia
(Zimbabwe) gained independence in
the 1970s, leaving the white settler
state of South Africa more isolated.
 By the mid-80s, pressure on western
governments was successfully
pushing them toward economic
sanctions against South Africa.
http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/international_politics/clips/4144/
The struggle against apartheid
 In the 1980s, the United Democratic
Front was a a multi-racial coalition of
community-based groups, trade
unions, church groups, students, that
launched a grassroots struggle
against apartheid.
 In 1985, the Congress of South
African Trade Unions was formed
(COSATU).
The struggle against apartheid
 Meanwhile, violence in South Africa
escalated. “Between 1984 and 1994,
politically motivated killings claimed
25,000 lives” (Lodge, 2009: 322).
The transition to democracy
 1986 repeal of pass laws and influx control.
 Feb 2, 1990: F.W. de Klerk announced that
Mandela would be released and prohibitions
against the ANC and other organizations
would be removed.
http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/international_politics/clips/4145/
 Feb 11, 1990: Mandela released
http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/international_politics/clips/4125/
 1992, whites-only referendum supports
process of negotiating a new constitution
The transition to democracy
 Elections 1994: ANC receives over
62% of the votes.
 May, 1994: a Government of National
Unity (GNU) took office, with Mandela
as president and including
representatives of the ANC, the
National Party and the Inkatha
Freedom Party.
Political institutions in
Post-apartheid South Africa
Centralized political power
 Semi-presidential system
 Quasi-federal
Political Parties
 ANC dominance (winning between 60
and 70 percent of the vote)
Economic and Social Policy in
post-apartheid South Africa
 ANC drops nationalization, 1992
 Transitional govt agrees to repay apartheid-era
foreign debt, 1993
 Agreement with IMF, 1993
 Central bank made independent, 1993
 South Africa joins GATT, 1994
 Reconstruction and Development Program, 1994
 Privatization begins, 1995
 Financial liberalization, 1995
 Growth, Employment and Redistribution Policy
(GEAR), 1996
Assessing post-apartheid
South Africa
 From racial to class apartheid?
 One-party dominance
 AIDS crisis
 Crime and violence