The Quest for Unity in the Zimbabwe Liberation Movement

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-18
Author(s):  
Simbi Mubako
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
African Unity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Kwame Nkrumah ◽  
The World ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Heads Of State

In the past fifteen years African heads of state and the Organization of African Unity have striven with little success to unite liberation movements fighting the settlers and colonialists in their countries in Southern Africa. The first attempt was made by Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and other leaders, and was directed at uniting the Pan-Africanist Congress and its rival African National Congress of South Africa soon after both were banned and forced into exile following the Sharpeville demonstrations. When leaders of both parties fanned out into the world to solicit support, some of the would-be supporters forced them into a makeshift marriage of convenience.

scholarly journals Polarization in South Africa: Toward Democratic Deepening or Democratic Decay?

2018 ◽  
Vol 681 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Southall
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
National Party ◽  
The World ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Racial Lines ◽  
Democratic Constitution ◽  
Party State

Under apartheid, white oppression of the black majority was extreme, and South Africa became one of the most highly polarized countries in the world. Confronted by a counter-movement headed by the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling National Party (NP) was eventually pressured into a negotiation process that resulted in the adoption of a democratic constitution. This article outlines how democratization defused polarization, but was to be hollowed out by the ANC’s construction of a “party-state,” politicizing democratic institutions and widening social inequalities. This is stoking political tensions, which, despite societal interdependence, are provoking fears of renewed polarization along class and racial lines.

African Union replaces Organization of African Unity

2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Hestermeyer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
International Organization ◽  
African Union ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Inaugural Meeting ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
Heads Of State

During their inaugural meeting in Durban, South Africa, on 9 July 2002 the African heads of state replaced the 39-year-old Organization of African Unity (OAU) with the latest international organization: the African Union (AU). With the exception of Morocco that was not a member of the OAU and Madagascar, whose president is not recognized by the OAU/AU all African heads of state attended the ceremony. The AU will be headquartered in Addis Ababa in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

South Africa’s Proxy War in Angola

Proxy War ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 157-181
Author(s):  
Tyrone L. Groh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Proxy War ◽  
National Congress ◽  
High Degree

This chapter presents a case study for how South Africa used UNITA as a proxy to intervene in the tense civil war in Angola to protect itself from communist influence. Pretoria wanted to prevent the African National Congress from taking over South Africa by force and to minimize Soviet influence in the region. UNITA received relatively overt support, operated with a high degree of autonomy, and had highly divergent objectives. Although the international community rhetorically opposed South Africa’s involvement in Angola, the actions of the United States and Western Europe reflected a more tacit approval. Domestically, South Africa’s public was reluctantly supportive but only on the condition that the costs remain low. Considering that most states had already rhetorically condemned Pretoria’s government and its foreign policy in southern Africa, it is interesting that states failed to raise the international costs of South Africa’s indirect intervention in Angola.

South Africa: Understanding South Africa’s confused and ineffective response to terrorism

2019 ◽  
pp. 448-469
Author(s):  
Hussein Solomon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
The South ◽  
Terrorist Threat ◽  
Historical Legacy ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
The Past ◽  
National Congress

This chapter explores why the South African government’s responses to terrorism are confused and ineffective. A significant contributing factor is that the African National Congress (ANC), which has governed the country since the end of apartheid in 1994, was a former liberation movement who themselves were labelled `terrorist’ by Ronald Reagan’s United States and Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. While in exile, the ANC had forged close ties with other similarly labelled groups and these strong bonds have endured. This historical legacy negatively impacts the formulation and implementation of current counter-terrorism policies. What the ANC government needs to understand is that the nature of the terrorist threat has radically morphed in the past few decades, from terrorist movements pursuing limited political goals to religious terrorist movements with global pretensions and absolutely no possibility of compromise.

scholarly journals Worker Education in South Africa: Lessons and contradictions

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim Vally ◽  
Mphutlane wa Bofelo ◽  
John Treat
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Trade Union Movement ◽  
The Past ◽  
Centre Of Gravity ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Worker Education ◽  
National Congress

Worker education played a crucial role in the development of the trade union movement in South Africa and in the broader struggle for social transformation. This article reviews key moments and dynamics in the trajectory of worker education in South Africa. We argue that international developments, the rise of neoliberalism, and the negotiated compromise between the African National Congress (ANC) and the apartheid state, as well as corporatism resulted in changes to worker education. While the latter as it existed in the past has weakened, the centre of gravity has shifted to community organizations where various forms of learning and creativity continue. Despite the challenges and setbacks of recent years, there remains a significant legacy and influence of the traditions of worker education and militant trade unionism in South Africa, which can and should be drawn upon.

Stability and Governability the Benign Effects of Party Dominance in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-75
Author(s):  
Ainara Mancebo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
The Other ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
African Countries ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Independence Era ◽  
Party Dominance

A tripartite alliance formed by the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions has been ruling the country with wide parliamentarian majorities. The country remains more consensual and politically inclusive than any of the other African countries in the post-independence era. This article examines three performance’s aspects of the party dominance systems: legitimacy, stability and violence. As we are living in a period in which an unprecedented number of countries have completed democratic transitions, it is politically and conceptually important that we understand the specific tasks of crafting democratic consolidation.

Michael Harmel (1915-1974): A South African Communist and His Discourse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Milan Oralek
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Core Beliefs ◽  
Literary Interpretation ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Private Correspondence ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Actual Contribution

<p>This thesis explores the life and work of a South African journalist, editor, and activist Michael Alan Harmel (1915–1974), a political mentor and friend of Nelson Mandela. A resolute believer in racial equality and Marxism-Leninism, Harmel devoted his life to fighting, with “the pen” as well as “the sword”, segregation and apartheid, and promoting an alliance of communists with the African National Congress as a stepping stone to socialism in South Africa. Part 1, after tracing his Jewish-Lithuanian and Irish family roots, follows Harmel from his birth to 1940 when, having joined the Communist Party of South Africa, he got married and was elected secretary of the District Committee in Johannesburg. The focus is on factors germane to the formation of his political identity. The narrative section is accompanied by an analytical sketch. This, using tools of close literary interpretation, catalogues Harmel’s core beliefs as they inscribed themselves in his journalism, histories, a sci-fi novel, party memoranda, and private correspondence. The objective is to delineate his ideological outlook, put to the test the assessment of Harmel—undeniably a skilled publicist—as a “creative thinker” and “theorist”, and determine his actual contribution to the liberation discourse.</p>

Michael Harmel (1915-1974): A South African Communist and His Discourse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Milan Oralek
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Core Beliefs ◽  
Literary Interpretation ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Private Correspondence ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Actual Contribution

<p>This thesis explores the life and work of a South African journalist, editor, and activist Michael Alan Harmel (1915–1974), a political mentor and friend of Nelson Mandela. A resolute believer in racial equality and Marxism-Leninism, Harmel devoted his life to fighting, with “the pen” as well as “the sword”, segregation and apartheid, and promoting an alliance of communists with the African National Congress as a stepping stone to socialism in South Africa. Part 1, after tracing his Jewish-Lithuanian and Irish family roots, follows Harmel from his birth to 1940 when, having joined the Communist Party of South Africa, he got married and was elected secretary of the District Committee in Johannesburg. The focus is on factors germane to the formation of his political identity. The narrative section is accompanied by an analytical sketch. This, using tools of close literary interpretation, catalogues Harmel’s core beliefs as they inscribed themselves in his journalism, histories, a sci-fi novel, party memoranda, and private correspondence. The objective is to delineate his ideological outlook, put to the test the assessment of Harmel—undeniably a skilled publicist—as a “creative thinker” and “theorist”, and determine his actual contribution to the liberation discourse.</p>

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