REPUBLIC OF SOUTH
AFRICA
Demographics
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Size: 1,219,912 sq. km. (twice the size of Texas!)
Population: 47.9 million. (as of 2008 estimate)
GDP per Capita: Almost $10,000.
Government: Constitutional democracy.
79% black; 9.6% white; 8.9% colored* ; 2.5% of Asian
descent.
Religion: 80% Christian; 1.5% Muslim; 15.1% indigenous/have
none; 3.7% other.
President: Jacob Zuma. (2009-)
Percentage of Population with HIV/AIDS: 25% among all
adults, 31% percent among pregnant women.
Life Expectancy: 42.5 years.
Has 3 separate capitals: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town
(legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial).
Provinces of South Africa
 Eastern Cape
 Free State
 Gauteng
 KwaZulu-Natal
 Limpopo
 Mpummalanga
 Northern Cape
 Northwest
 Western Cape
History of South Africa
 Mid-1600’s: First Europeans settlers (of primarily Dutch
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descent) come in South Africa, established small colony.
Settlers were known as Boers (farmers) or Afrikaners.
1795-1806: British invade Cape Town colony for 11 years,
took control permanently in 1806.
1820: British settlers begin to arrive in Cape colony.
1835-1840: “Great Trek”: Boers fed up with British rule,
head northeast (now Gauteng and the Orange Free
State) to regain influence in those areas; Battle of Blood
River (of which Bloemfontein's name is derived from)
established Afrikaner presence in these areas.
1895: British Cape Town governor Cecil Rhodes asks
English workers to fight the Dutch; Boer War begins in
1899 and lasts until 1903.
History of South Africa,
continued
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1910: Union of South Africa established.
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1912: African National Congress (ANC) formed.
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1914: National Party (Afrikaners) established.
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1948: National Party comes into power, apartheid becomes official policy until
1994.
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1960: Sharpeville Massacre occurs after South African police shoot a black
crowd of protesters that were there to oppose recent pro-apartheid laws.
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1964: Nelson Mandela and others arrested and jailed/exiled for terrorist
activities.
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1983-4: New constitution is instated; gave Indians and colored peoples
representation, but not blacks.
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1990: F.W. de Klerk is elected president; lifts three decade ban on antiapartheid parties, such as the ANC and South African Communist Party (SACP)
and apartheid is slowly eliminated. Mandela is released from jail.
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1994: Nelson Mandela is elected president of South Africa after almost 30 years
in jail; marks the first South African election to grant universal suffrage.
Nelson Mandela
 First South African president to be elected in a
democratic election.
 Major anti-apartheid activist; was once the leader
of the ANC’s Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the
Nation”, shortened to MK), a military wing of the
party.
 Was identified as a terrorist in the 1960’s,
convicted of sabotage and placed in jail for almost
30 years.
 Mandela was initially against violence but cocreated the MK in 1961.
Thabo Mbeki
 Mandela’s vice-president, succeeded him as
president when Mandela retired in 1999.
 While his presidency brought good economic
growth, a successful foreign policy (except for
Zimbabwe) and lots of foreign investment to
South Africa, he is best known for the many
controversies that have riddled his
administration. (AIDS denial, relations with
Zimbabwe, 2008 race riots.)
 Resigned in 2008 after a scandal involving then
Deputy president Jacob Zuma.
Jacob Zuma
 Current president of South Africa. (2009-)
 Succeeded Thabo Mbeki as head of the ANC, but has
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strong ties to the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Like Mandela, Zuma was politically active in the 1960’s;
he too was arrested on accounts of being a terrorist
served 10 years on Robben Island.
Left South Africa in 1975; became based first in Swaziland
and then Mozambique.
After the ban on anti-apartheid parties was lifted, he
returned; became National Chairperson for ANC in 1994.
Became executive Deputy President for Thabo Mbeki in
1999, but was “relieved” of the position after allegations
of corruption were named; was elected by parliament in
2009 to become president.
Zuma has described himself as “socialist” occasionally
and has received support from both trade unions and the
SACP.
Important Political
Institutions in South Africa
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African National Congress
South African Communist Party
Congress of South African Trade Unions
National Party
African National Congress
(ANC)
 Democratic socialism, left-wing nationalism.
 Has been the main party in power since 1994, but
has a tripartite alliance with SACP and Congress
of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
 Formed in the wake of black oppression during
the early 1900’s.
 Was once in favor of non-violence until the
formation of the Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of
the Nation”, commonly abbreviated to MK), its
military wing; once commanded by Nelson
Mandela.
South African Communist
Party (SACP)
 Marxist/Communist, left wing.
 Once known as Communist Party of South Africa;
was declared illegal in 1950, reemerged as SACP
underground in 1953.
 Has a triple alliance with ANC and COSATU for
power.
Congress of South African
Trade Unions (COSATU)
 Was formed in 1985, yet it’s one of South Africa’s
largest trade unions.
 Although it currently is in alliance with the ANC,
it has been critical of some of the party’s policy;
the ANC’s primary use to the COSATU has been
purely for political benefits to its members.
 They have also been a huge help in the antiapartheid movement, from having wage strikes
to mobilization of support in other factories and
towns across South Africa.
National Party (NP)
 Was the party in rule from 1948 up until 1994; it
has been defunct since 2005.
 Created and geared towards Afrikaners (Boers),
this is the party that instituted apartheid into
South African life.
 Support at its strongest during the 1960’s and
1970’s but during the late 1980’s under the
leadership of P.W. Botha, instability began to rise
and he resigned. F.W. de Klerk was instated in
1989 and began to dismantle apartheid policies.
P.W. Botha
 First executive State President of South Africa.
 Very pro-apartheid, first came into politics as a
member of the NP in 1948, was appointed
Deputy Minister of International Affairs in 1958
before becoming President in the 1980’s.
 Proposed a new constitution that gave the
coloreds and Indians their own houses (House of
Representatives and House of Delegates,
respectively.)
 Resigned in 1989.
F.W. de Klerk
 Last apartheid-era President of South Africa.
 He can be attributed to apartheid’s
disintegration.
 Major contributions include lifting the bans on
anti-apartheid group, disarment of nuclear
weaponry and also releasing Nelson Mandela and
others from jail.
 He also served as Mandela’s vice-president until
1996.
Legislative in South Africa
 Bicameral parliament, was once tricameral
parliament (went away in 1994).
 National Council of Provinces. (90 seats, 10
members, each having 5-year terms.)
 Protects regional interests, including
safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions
among minorities.
 National Assembly has 400 seats and are
elected by popular vote via proportional
representation every 5 years.
Results of the Most Recent
Election
 National Council of Provinces: N/A
 ANC: 65.9%
 DA: 16.7 %
 COPE: 7.4%
 IFP: 4.6%
 Other: 5.4%
Seats by Party
 ANC: 264
 DA: 67
 COPE: 30
 IFP: 18
 Other: 21
Executive in South Africa
 Chief of State/Head of Government is Jacob
Zuma.
 Executive Deputy: President Kgalema
Motlanthe.
 Cabinet appointed by President, President is
elected by National Assembly.
 Presidents are eligible for a second term.
Judiciary in South Africa
 Has Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of
Appeals, High Courts and Magistrate Courts.
 Independent to other branches in the
government.
Political Culture in South
Africa
 One major component was apartheid; this has
gone away since 1994.
 Extreme racial segregation.
 ANC has brought the culture of a liberation
movement.
 Lots of corruption in the government, yet its
citizens are still supportive of it.
Foreign Policy
 During the apartheid era, South Africa was a more
isolated country but post-apartheid, it has become
key in African diplomatic relations.
 Member of the U.N. since 1945 (but does not have a
permanent seat), as well as being a member of the
African Union and Commonwealth of Nation.
 It, for the most part, strives for peaceful relations
with the rest of the world, although this is has
proved challenging with a growing drug trade
problem the country has.
 South Africa has also received some criticism with
how it treated Zimbabwean refugees, including
deportation back to Zimbabwe and mistreatment of
the refugees.
Economy
 Middle-income emerging market.
 Modern infrastructures supporting efficient
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distribution of goods.
17th largest stock exchange in the world.
Unemployment remains high.
Electricity crisis in 2007 because of plants that
were not modernized.
Daunting economic problems remain from
apartheid era, including poverty, lack of
economic empowerment and shortage of public
transportation.
Economy, Continued
 They focus on controlling inflation,
maintaining a budget surplus and using stateowned enterprises.
 Fiscally conservative, but pragmatic.
 Want to increase job growth and household
income.
 GDP per capita is still low but has chance of
improvement.
Various Percentage Rates
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Growth rate: 2.8%
Labor force: 18.22 million
Unemployment: 21.7% (!!!)
Distribution of income: 65
Budget: 83.85 billion dollars
Inflation rate: 11.3%
Production rate: 3.8%
Imports: 83.7 billion dollars
Exports: U.S. makes up 11.9%, Germany 8%,
Japan 11.1%, U.K. 7.7%, China 6.6%,
Netherlands 4.5%.
HIV/AIDS Problems and Rates
 Adult prevalence rate: 18.1%
 5.7 million people in South Africa living
with AIDS.
 350,000 deaths per year are due to
AIDS.
Miscellaneous
 National holiday is Freedom Day (April
27th).
 Suffrage is obtained at 18 years of age.
 39.69 billion dollars in debt.
Natural Resources
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Gold
Coal
Iron ore
Salt
Natural gas
Diamonds
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Tin
Nickel
Copper
Manganese
Uranium
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, students should be able to
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outline the basics of the Apartheid system and four major affects that are
visible today
describe the primary ethnic/cultural groups that make up the South African
population
explain how the relationship between the Afrikaner and the English settlers
influenced the establishment of the Apartheid system
identify the major elements of the Apartheid system and the reasons for their
importance in the repressive regime
explain the role of import substitution in maintaining the Apartheid regime
describe the roles played by F. W. deKlerk, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela,
and Thabo Mbeki in establishing the new South African regime
explain the concept of the “hurting stalemate” as it applies to South Africa
outline the major steps in the transition process from the Apartheid regime to
the new South African regime
identify the major parties in South Africa today
describe the major public policy challenges facing the government today