South Africa: The Struggle for a New Order - Softcover

Ottaway, Marina

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0815767153 ISBN 13: 9780815767152

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 1993

Synopsis

The unbanning of the African National Congress and the release of Nelson Mandela in February of 1990 cleared the way for negotiations toward a new, post-apartheid political order in South Africa. But three years later, the main parties have made little progress toward a compromise, while violence escalates in the townships. In this revealing study, Marina Ottaway examines the new conflicts emerging in South Africa, the factors influencing them, and the probable outcome. She shows that the black-on-white conflict that has made the country a pariah in the past has evolved into a much more complex state of affairs and explains that the transition is likely to take an unprecedented form. Beginning with a brief history of the events since Mandela's release, Ottaway provides a vivid account of the evolving conflict over apartheid. She discuses the complexity of conflict resolution in a country where internal and external currents work against each other, and where the struggle for power transcends any strides toward peace. Ottaway thoroughly addresses the issues involved in South Africa's transition from apartheid. She explains that the abolition of the pervasive system has more far-reaching implications than originally thought. South Africa explores the effects that the international climate of the 1990s has had on the county’s transition. Ottaway contends that the international community rejects apartheid but is unsympathetic to black demands for redistribution, and has condemned the white government’s vision of separate development but accepts ethnic nationalism as inevitable. She describes the dramatic effects the new world order has had on South Africa and assesses what those changes will mean to the country’s difficult transition.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In a sober, careful style, Ottaway (who edited The Political Economy of Ethiopia ) provides a solid overview of the conflict-ridden South African political transition since negotiations began in 1990. Since Ottaway ends her account after constitutional talks broke off in late 1992, this book lacks analysis of the recently proposed temporary coalition between the ruling National Party and the African National Congress. Still, she provides a wealth of details and context: how the parties' sense they were negotiating from strength hampered progress; how State President F. W. de Klerk has tried to woo recalcitrant whites while compromising with opposition leaders; how ANC members criticized their leaders' non-democratic style. She observes that reform of local government--also rooted in racial separation--is more important in South Africa than in many other transitions. Ottaway is pessimistic about future political harmony and sometimes downplays government complicity in political violence; still, this is a valuable guide to an important phase in South Africa's history.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0815767153
• ISBN 13: 9780815767152
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 263