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Introduction to apartheid in south africa
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During the Apartheid Era, there emerged from South Africa cases of gross human rights abuse, racism, police brutality and general mistreatment of the non-white population. Excluding the fact that South Africa was never ruled by a dictator, it can be argued that some of these features were totalitarian and that South Africa was, to a certain extent, a totalitarian state under Apartheid. This discussion will analyse the totalitarian features that were apparent during Apartheid, and will be structured in the format of the characteristics of a totalitarian state1. Political, economic and social spheres will be dealt with, with the main focus being on racial purity, a “reign of terror” and education. A totalitarian state involves many spheres being partly or wholly controlled by the state, and, often, the manipulation of the population to benefit the state. In South Africa, this was apparent for the non-white population – the state controlled and often manipulated them with various pieces of Apartheid legislation. In the political sphere, South Africa could be seen to a certain extent as a totalitarian one-party state, as the Afrikaans National Party (NP) maintained power throughout Apartheid. Opposition parties (such as the ANC, PAC, SACP, and UDF in 1988) were banned according to the “Unlawful Organisations Act No 34 of 1960;”2 and in 1956, the “Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act3” removed the right to vote from coloureds (blacks already had no voting rights), leaving only whites allowed to vote and therefore removing opposition. Membership of the South African government could be regarded as “elite” (a totalitarian feature) as the government was predominantly Afrikaans with few English-speaking people and no... ... middle of paper ... ...show.php?include=docs/shopsteward/1995/ss0406-12.html. Accessed 3 April 2011 9. “Stephen Bantu Biko.” Taken from the SA History website: http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/bios/biko-s.htm Accessed 3 April 2011 10. “Casspir Mk III.” Taken from the Army Guide website: http://www.army-guide.com/eng/product.php?prodID=4310&printmode=1 . Accessed 3 April 2011. 11. “Cosatu Ban: State Hopes to Smash Apartheid Resistance.” Taken from the DISA website: http://www.disa.ukzn.ac.za/index.php?option=com_displaydc&recordID=CoMay88.1727.0588.000.001.May1988.18 Accessed 3 April 2011. 12. Extract from a textbook, History for Standard 6–10 (Joubert and Britz 1975), popularly used during the Apartheid era in schools. Taken from a 2008 publication on Apartheid by Alta Engelbrecht - http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/232527/engelbrecht.pdf. Accessed 30th March 2011
...f South African language and culture, acknowledgement of the racial oppression in South Africa, past and present, that it was wrong and positive action is required to make it right, and finally that all South Africans are legitimate and enjoy full moral equality (“About – DA”). In order for all this to be possible, the state must ensure it does not compromise the freedom of the individual (“About – DA”).
Firstly, the dominant societal issue that disrupted the political order of the National Party was racial segregation and the termination of apartheid. Secondly, while the National Party promoted the apartheid system, the African National Congress (though at the time the party was illegitimate) advocated for the termination of racial segregation (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Although there was not shift in party coalitions there was a major shift in voter support from the National Party to the African National Congress (ANC) with the ANC winning a popular vote of 62.65% (Encyclopaedia Britannica). This realigning election removed the National Party from power and in its place positioned the African National Congress. The ANC has been in power since 1994 with little competition from opposing parties. However, economic, social and cultural changes have slowly lead to an increase in votes for the opposing party, the Democratic Alliances (Aryn Baker). With that said there might be a possibility for another realigning election sometime in South Africa’s
In 1990, South Africa became a totalitarian state. Apartheid is still in full effect. There is extensive racial violence in the streets. The country is economically suffering from sanctions from many other countries in protest of Apartheid.
The End of Apartheid - HistoryWiz South Africa. (n.d.). HistoryWiz: for students, teachers and lovers of history. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from http://www.historywiz.org/end.htm
For a historian, the 20th century and all the historic events that it encompasses represents a utopia with endless sources of inspiration for the analysis of political figures, events and their consequences. Political figures such as Benito Mussolini of Italy, Adolf Hitler of Germany, Mao Zedong of China and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union are all names we are familiar with due to the time period that they influenced; this time period after the trauma and atrocities of World War I and the Great Depression led to completely new forms of government in Europe and beyond. These “manifestations of political evil”, commonly known as totalitarian states, should not be considered as mere extensions of already existing political systems, but rather as completely new forms of government built upon terror and ideological fiction. Therefore, this was also a time in which political philosophers such as Hannah Arendt, the author of the standard work on totalitarianism, “Origins of Totalitarianism”, could thrive. When looking at totalitarianism as a political philosophy, two initial questions have to be dealt with: what is totalitarianism and what kind of effect it had on countries ruled by totalitarian regimes. The reasons for its occurrence have briefly been mentioned above, although there are much deeper ideological, social and economic reasons including imperialism and anti-Semitism. In order to fully understand it, we must also contrast it to other political systems like authoritarianism and dictatorship, which are similar to a certain extent, but lack crucial elements that are in the core of totalitarian ideology. Out of the many examples of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, Nazi Germany, Communist China and the Soviet Union stan...
Nelson Mandela’s commitment to politics and the ANC grew stronger after the 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner dominated National Party, which formed a formal system of racial classification and segregation “apartheid” which restricted non whites basic rights and barred them from government.
In a totalitarian state, the party leadership maintains monopoly control over the governmental system, which includes the police, military, communications, and economic and education systems. It was not secret and was much feared. Terror atomised the nation, people thought the Gestapo was everywhere but in fact there were a very small number. The Gestapo controlled concentration camps. The Nazi government achieved their power through fear from the terror of the SS and Gestapo, and the feared Police State is a characteristic of totalitarian States.
Coster, P., & Woolf, A. (Eds.).(2011). World book: South Africa’s Anti-Apartheid Movement, (pp. 56-57). Arcturus Publishers: Chicago.
South Africa really began to suffer when apartheid was written into the law. Apartheid was first introduced in the 1948 election that the Afrikaner National Party won. The plan was to take the already existing segregation and expand it (Wright, 60). Apartheid was a system that segregated South Africa’s population racially and considered non-whites inferior (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”). Apartheid was designed to make it legal for Europeans to dominate economics and politics (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”).
A system of legal separation amongst races dominated the Republic of South Africa, namely apartheid between 1948 until 1993. Apartheid led to the separation and discrimination between whites against people of colour. Not only was this racism commonly accepted between whites against blacks, but it was also legally enforced as white’s maintained priority in terms of housing, education, political power and jobs. I will be examining a particular event, The Soweto Uprising of 1976 which was an education related outcry by students. This event carries with it a great deal of importance as it was a very powerful thing to impact South Africa and help in the deconstruction of the Apartheid government.
Apartheid was a system of classified inhabitants and visitors into racial groups. Nelson Mandela is most known for his heroic efforts to end Apartheid in South Africa. During the apartheid era, the blacks were subjected to the worst forms of discrimination by the white minority. They were restricted and forced to live in townships, whereas whites were allowed to enjoy unlimited freedom. Blacks were stripped of their right to vote, own property, marry whites, work with whites, and even travel anywhere without carrying proper documentation. The whites wanted to make sure that no blacks were considered citizens. Mandela’s reaction to the inhumane social conditions was to team up with the ANC, African National Congress, and stop racial discrimination. While others wanted to seek violence in making a d...
Old South Africa is best described by Mark Uhlig, “The seeds of such violent conflict in South Africa were sown more than 300 years ago, with the first meetings of white settlers and indigenous black tribes in an unequal relationship that was destined one day to become unsustainable” (116).
The South African apartheid was an injustice because it was developed to enforce prejudice and treat people unequally. The apartheid was a set of laws created in South Africa in 1948 after decades of racial segregation. Some people view the apartheid as capitalism that relied on South African labor. Other people see it as a way to legally enforce prejudice and white superiority on all South Africans. The apartheid increased the white minority’s economic and political power and was violently enforced by the government. It gave black South Africans little rights and poor living conditions. Ultimately the apartheid tore the country apart
I was treated well in prison; security guards grew a certain respect for me. I decided not to waste my time, so I informed my cellmates about the apartheid, and their horrible laws. They listened attentively, and wanted to help, so together we organized hunger strikes and protests. After 27 years, on February 11, 1990 I was released from jail. I could’ve got out of jail in 1985, P.W. Botha offered me a release but only if I would stop the armed conflict. Without a doubt, I chose to stay in prison because I believed that the right thing to do was to put an end to apartheid. P.W. Botha was an evil man, he committed to state terrorism and to thwart black majority rule. He had a stroke in 1989 and Frederick Willem replaced Botha. Frederick on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Botha. He set me free from jail.”
"Swize Bansi is Dead" tells the difficult reality of Africa under apartheid (1950s), analysing the complex issue of identity in that time. The rules of Apartheid meant that people were legally classified into a racial group, mainly Black and White, and separated from each others.