The Decline and Fall of Apartheid: National, Regional, and Global Factors
Introduction
The struggle for independence in the Republic of South Africa was weakened by certain policies and directives that were passed on by the then ruling Afrikaans. Apartheid was the biggest obstacle that these freedom fighters were to face. It was characterized by racial segregation that gave preference to the white people while the black people were not viewed as equals. Racial segregation was seen in many other areas such as health care facilities, schools and places of work such as mines where the black people were forced to work. The Apartheid regime came to an end and allowed all citizens of the country the ability to hold democratic elections in 1994 in which Nelson Mandela emerged victoriously. Several factors explain in detail how the Apartheid regime came to a fall. This paper focuses on the national, regional as well as global factors that led to the fall of the regime.
National Factors
During the mid-1970s, Steve Biko founded the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). The movement was active in the preparation and organization of protests during that period. Biko together with members of the movement organized students into starting urban as well as rural school boycotts. In 1976, secondary school students in Soweto protested against the use of Afrikaans as the language of study in all schools. The Nationalist Party (N.P) had enforced the use of Afrikaans in teaching students all over the country. Even though the protests were peaceful, the police opened fire and killed many students were injured. The Soweto Uprising ignited a series of uprisings from students all over the country. The government found it hard to deal with such uprisings without attracting attention from global bodies.
The government had banned the formation of political parties among the black people. As a result, labor unions, which were formed to solve the problems of African workers, were used as channels that voiced out the demands of the black people during early 1980s. They were mostly used in collective bargaining with the government. The labor unions were characterized by frequent protests that went in parallel with those staged by the students. The unions together with the workers fought against the forced labor that the blacks were subjected to in the mines. These protests brought about unrests that spread to churchmen, teachers, and other people. The protests were solely responsible for creating fear among many investors. The government relied on the black people for labor in different places and found it hard to maintain the economy with the failing labor units.
Prime Minister Pieter Willem (‘P.W') Botha led few reforms in the government during his tenure both as Prime Minister and as the Head of State. One of the reforms was the implementation of a new tri-cameral parliament. The parliament reserved places for the ‘whites', the ‘colored' as well as the ‘Asians'. The ‘black' people were not given full citizenship and were therefore not included in the parliament. The formation of the parliament sparked unrests and protests that were spearheaded by the newly formed Liberation movement, the United Democratic Front (UDF).
There were strikes, mass protests as well as boycotts that were seen in many parts of the country. The black people who were in one way or another involved in the government businesses such as black policemen were seen as collaborators. Their premises together with other government buildings were brought down by the protesters. The apartheid regime was now weak and did not recover the full strength even though P.W Botha announced a state of emergencies during different moments. He had failed in winning the hearts and minds of the whole nation.
The government faced numerous challenges including the rising costs of running the apartheid. The military took up a large part of the income as the government was involved in fighting the neighboring countries where it believed that the exiled leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan Africanist Congress had run to. The limited purchasing power of the reducing number of whites as well as those of the blacks (who were mostly poor) did great damages to the economy of the country. The value of the currency, as well as that of gold, fell during this period.
The country at that time relied mostly on income that it generated from the mines. During this period, however, there came an acute shortage of skilled labor in most parts of the production sector of the government including the mines sector. The shortage of skilled labor was brought about by the fact that the blacks were undereducated and thus did not have the necessary skills needed. The investors were unhappy with the situation since most of the unskilled people also fled due to the strikes and ‘stay-away' that were being experienced. The government found it hard to keep up with the rising costs of sustaining the apartheid regime.
Towards the end of the 1980s, P.W. Botha was replaced by Fredrik W. de Klerk. De Klerk came into power with visions of reforming the apartheid. He was responsible for the release of political prisoners. The prisoners were led by Nelson Mandela, who had been in prison for 27 years. He also lifted the bans on political parties such as ANC, the PAC and the South African Communist Party (SACP). De Klerk was very instrumental in repealing various laws that supported apartheid. The Separate Amenities Act, the Natives Land Act as well as the Group Areas Act were repealed. These laws were responsible for denying the Africans the right to own land in the urban regions as well as tying every resident in South Africa to a particular racial group.
Towards the end of 1991, the government negotiators together with negotiators from the political parties that had their bans lifted met to discuss the best possible way in which a stable government would be achieved in South Africa. The main points of discussion were the attainment of democracy together with bringing an end to apartheid. The forum was referred to as the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa). Amidst opposition from some members of the government, Codesa was responsible for the negotiations that led to the adoption of an interim constitution as well as overseeing the first independent democratic elections that saw the end of apartheid. The African political organizations agreed with the Nationalist Party over the formation of a government that included members from both parties.
Regional Factors
The countries that are geographically close to South Africa participated in more than one ways in helping fight apartheid. The contributions were made in various forms and through different channels. A country such as Lesotho played a big part in accommodating the student leaders who had been exiled. The state also offered education to the students who desperately needed it if they needed to succeed in the fight against apartheid. The proximity of the country allowed the ANC officials to cross into Lesotho and have a brief meeting and return to South Africa during the following day. Other countries such as Mozambique and Botswana served as through-ways where the ANC officials used as they fled from South Africa. These neighboring countries also provided shelter for the exiled politicians by allowing them to set up safe houses as well as offices. The exiled Africans were given facilities as well as time to train and learn the various methods of applying pressure on the apartheid. The guerilla camps provided vital support in helping the exiled South Africans achieve their goal.
There were regional organizations that were formed to oversee the cohesion of African States. These organizations were held together by common goals. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was established to assist the cohesion of African States as well as help and fight colonialism and apartheid. The duties of OAU were clearly outlined in the charter written after its formation. The OAU did not allow apartheid South Africa's membership still it was still under colonial rule. The organization would later play a pivotal part in ensuring the apartheid South Africa was struck with economic sanctions all in the war against apartheid. The Assembly of the Heads of State in 1989 adopted a declaration that made it clear that the organization was aware of a possibility of an end to apartheid in South Africa that was to be achieved through negotiations.
The leaders of the adjacent African states met with the leaders of the liberation movements such as the ANC leaders as well as the leaders of the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). The leaders such as Julius Nyerere offered advice as well as places where the leaders would strategize in the fight against apartheid. These leaders helped the ANC leaders in developing ties with countries in Eastern Europe and Russia that helped them in the fight against the regime.
The Angolan war
The arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on the National Party impacted negatively on their war with Angola. The National Party failure to acquire new sophisticated weaponry was a major blow in their quest for victory during the war. The Party lost many of its fighter-bombers while the Angola regime received backing from the Cuba government. The inability of the South African government to develop modern arms left their military heavily exposed against the better equipped Angola military. Consequently, the South African government called for peace talks which eventually led to a negotiated settlement.
The war with Angola played a pivotal role in the decline of the apartheid regime. The South African government spent a lot of money in sustaining the conflict. More money meant for national development was diverted to sustain the war especially in research of new military technology with the objective of developing arms. The war, therefore, caused major losses in security personnel and revenue. The deployment of more military personnel during the war left the security level of the nation at a deplorable rate hence making it easier for the opposition to attack.
Global Factors
Economic and political sanctions
The apartheid regime treated non-whites as second class citizens while Africans as non-citizens. The regime confined Africans to Bantustan homelands and strip them all basic needs. Due to the confinement, the international community declined to acknowledge the Bantustan homelands and pressured the National Party to grant all citizens equal rights irrespective of their skin color. In 1986, the United States signed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, which outlawed apartheid regime in South Africa and urged the international community to boycott the country. The pressure came from all sides and in the form of divestment of international companies, expulsions from international recognized organizations as well as economic sanctions. The aim of pressuring the Afrikaner backed regime was to force the government to change its behavior and attitude towards the segregated citizens.
The sanctions imposed on the National party were both provocative and prohibitive. Revocation sanctions provoke the government to abolish its discriminatory laws while the prohibitive sanctions aimed at limiting the functionality of the regime. One of the prohibitive sanctions carried out by the international community was economic sanctions. This type of sanction is often preferred because it is efficient and free of violence. The two forms of economic sanctions commonly deployed are financial and trade restrictions.
Financial restrictions aim to manipulate or control the flow of foreign investment or capital into the country. In the case of the Apartheid regime, the international community deployed financial restrictions in the form of divestment and disinvestment. Divestment restrictions directed towards the apartheid regime included breaking economic and financial relations with all foreign companies operating in the country. The National Party raised revenue through working with foreign companies, therefore, breaking economic and financial relations with such companies reduced their financial ability to continue operating in the country. A reduction in revenue collection limit the operations of the government and thus give the locals a big boost in their quest towards attaining independence from the apartheid regime. Disinvestment restrictions, on the other hand, involved withdrawal or reduction of foreign capital invested in South Africa with the aim of reducing the financial ability of the National Party. Foreign banks were also ordered by the international community to stop carrying out new investments in the country.
Trade sanctions, which is the other form of economic sanctions, aimed at cessation or restriction of exports and imports in South Africa and the other states sectors. Every country relies on exports to raise her foreign direct investment. Therefore, lack of exports dealt the South African economy a huge blow since the country was unable to exports it’s produced to the international market. Also, the country was unable to import the basic needs required by its citizens for daily consumption. Such sanctions forced the apartheid regime to reconsider its racial stance towards a more inclusive one.
Other forms of sanctions imposed on the apartheid regime included diplomatic and political sanctions whereby countries reduced or broke off diplomatic ties with the South African government. On the diplomatic front, the United Nations prohibited the exchange of know-how and technology such as embargo that may make the apartheid regime powerful. According to the United Nations, a powerful apartheid is dangerous to its citizens and hence it needs to be checked. In 1977, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 418 that imposed arms embargo on the apartheid regime. The arms embargo was as a result of the 1976 Soweto movement plead to the international community to cut down the chain of supply of armament towards the regime.
After the passing of Resolution 418 by the UN Security Council, the National Party government began developing and producing its arms. However, the regime was unable to produce high-performance naval vessels, helicopters, and aircraft among other sophisticated weaponry. The cost of development and production of arms was high, and the level of production was low limiting the regime military ability. The expense of developing arms took its toll as money aimed at improving health care, education and public utilities were diverted to carry out military activities.
Rugby
Another factor that led to the end of apartheid from an international aspect is rugby. During the apartheid regime, the South African national rugby team famously known as the Springboks comprised largely of whites. There was racial segregation in the selections of rugby players as blacks were largely ignored. The ban imposed on the Springboks from participating in international competition was a huge blow especially to Afrikaners who were devoted to the team. The infamous Springbok tour of New Zealand in 1981played a role towards the decline and eventual fall of apartheid in South Africa since it is considered as a crucial turning point in cementing the anti-apartheid movement. The tour, also known as the Rebel Tour in South Africa, inspired widespread protests in New Zealand as the majority of the public felt the National Party mistreated the black populace. As a result, the tour polarized opinions and caused controversy that played a part towards the decision of banning the Springboks from participating in international competition. Protests against the South African national rugby team also took place during the team’s United States tour. The apartheid regime tarnished the international image of South Africa discouraging many countries from having sporting contacts with the Springboks. Opponent unwillingness to play the South African rugby national team was a major blow to Afrikaners who had a religious zeal towards the team. The main objective of the protest was to send a clear message that New Zealanders and some members of the international community opposed the apartheid-led regime activities. The external pressure from other countries aimed to discourage racial discrimination and to promote democracy in South Africa which was later achieved.
End of Cold War
The end of cold war contributed to the decline and eventual collapse of apartheid. During the apartheid era, the National Party used the anti-communist propaganda to oppress citizens who disagreed with its ideology. Since the National Party was anti-communist Western governments especially the USA and Britain continued to offer military support to the harsh regime. The end of the Cold War marked the collapse of communism ideology and as a result, the National Party could not use it as an excuse to oppress blacks. Besides, the West stopped supplying the regime with weaponry which was a big blow to the regime.
In conclusion, the decline and fall of the apartheid regime were due to a combination of several factors in the national, regional and global spheres. The combination of these factors pressured the National Party to put to end their oppressive regime. On the other front, the ANC party continued to fight for the rights of the black population. The final step that led to the end of the oppressive regime was the move by de Klerk, the then Prime Minister, to agree to democratic elections to be held. As a result, the US increased foreign aid and lifted sanctions imposed on South Africa. Nelson Mandela was elected the first black president in South Africa during the April 1994 Democratic elections that marked the beginning of a new era in the country.
Bibliography
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