Ending Apartheid

When we think of the twilight of the twentieth century we think of the spectacular collapse of communism, the famines in Africa, civil wars and genocides across the globe and inexorable dismantling of South Africa''s segregated world.  Apartheid was reduced to rubble through the courage of many martyrs and the pressure of world disapproval.  This is the history of the final years of one of the worst contemporary regimes, showing the violent conflict between black and white and the clashes of personality between Botha, de Klerk and Mandela.

Professor Jack Spence looks at the most controversial issues associated with apartheid - the ambiguous figure of Nelson Mandela; the disastrous attempts at democracy in the 1990s and continuing persistent problems now; the issue of segregation itself versus apartheid; and the episodes thrown up by the commissions. A fascinating account of the final years of Apartheid, showing the violent conflict between black and white and the clashes of personality between Botha, de Klerk and Mandela.  As well as a full treatment of all these issues, the book contains original interviews and first hand experiences.

The release of Nelson Mandela from twenty-seven years imprisonment in 1990 and the free elections which followed four years later were among the most dramatic events of the twentieth century.

David Welsh and J. E. Spence here examine the complex forces which lay behind that drama.  They chart the rise and decline of apartheid ideology in South Africa, the internal insurrection and increased international isolation which characterised the 1980s and the political roller-coaster ride of the period after 1990 as constitutional negotiations got underway. Based on extensive interviews with those involved, Ending Apartheid traces the negotiating process in penetrating detail, noting the political skills of de Klerk and Mandela in keeping their potentially unruly constituencies in line and avoiding the major violence that many had predicted. Reaching agreement on a democratic constitution was a major achievement that surprised many sceptical observers, but the book ends on a more sombre note.   Reviewing the period subsequent to the transition, it argues that while progress has been made, the future of South Africa''s democracy is still far from assured.

Written by two eminent scholars with decades of experience teaching in the field, Ending Apartheid is an invaluable resource for all students of South African politics seeking a deeper understanding of a defining episode in recent history.