Mbeki, Govan

Political Prisoner ◽

Nationalist Movement ◽

Leading Role ◽

Nelson Mandela ◽

Ambitious Program ◽

Rural Protest ◽

Govan Mbeki was a South African politician, writer, long-term political prisoner, and father of President Thabo Mbeki. His political career was distinctive among African leaders of his generation in two respects. First, he combined sustained efforts at rural mobilization and a leading role in building a militant urban organization. His long-held belief in the political importance of rural people carried little weight in the African National Congress (ANC), an overwhelmingly urban nationalist movement. Second, he was both an activist and an intellectual, leaving a body of writing produced over six decades, including a remarkable set of prison writings and a landmark study of rural protest. An ANC member from 1935, he emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a senior leader of both the ANC and the underground South African Communist Party (SACP) and also their armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), formed in 1961. He was sentenced at the Rivonia Trial in June 1964 to life imprisonment, together with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and five others. Mbeki spent twenty-three years in prison on Robben Island, during which time significant tensions emerged between him and Mandela. He was active in encouraging other prisoners to study academically and was central to an ambitious program of political education. Mbeki was released in November 1987 and died in August 2001, by which time his oldest son, Thabo, had succeeded Nelson Mandela as the country’s president.

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

10.26686/wgtn.17144345 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Milan Oralek

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Political Identity ◽

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

10.26686/wgtn.17144345.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Milan Oralek

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Political Identity ◽

Core Beliefs ◽

Literary Interpretation ◽

Nelson Mandela ◽

Private Correspondence ◽

National Congress ◽

Actual Contribution

Presidencies and Policy in Post-apartheid South Africa

Politeia ◽

10.25159/0256-8845/3096 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Vusi Gumede

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Policy Development ◽

Policy Making ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Policy Coordination ◽

National Unity ◽

Institutional Reforms ◽

Nelson Mandela ◽

From a policy perspective, the question naturally arises as to whether there have been major changes in policy making and associated issues in South Africa since 1994. Arguably, the first five years or so focused on institutional reforms and legislative interventions. In the late 1990s the South African government established specific processes and institutions for policy development and coordination. Â In 2005-6, specific processes and institutions for long-term planning and monitoring and evaluation were formally established. The paper examines the evolution of policy making and coordination in South Africa since the late 1990s, it also reflects on monitoring and evaluation as well as long-term planning. The erstwhile Policy Coordination and Advisory Services (PCAS), which had been the main engine of policy (coordination and other aspects) in post-apartheid South Africa that was established towards the end of 1997 in the Office of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki (at the time) was disbanded in 2010. The PCAS, popularly known as the Policy Unit, coordinated all policies and reforms, and led in planning as well as monitoring and evaluation, among other responsibilities. From 2010, functions were institutionalised or strengthened (e.g. government departments have been established to deal with planning as well as monitoring and evaluation). There have not been major shifts and/or changes in policy coordination, planning as well as monitoring and evaluation since the late 1990s. However, there appears to be a shift in emphasis to focusing more on implementation. This might have been one of the biggest mistakes of the Jacob Zuma administration because capacity for policy thinking is critical. It would seem that the Thabo Mbeki administration focused specifically on policy. The Nelson Mandela administration, which was a Government of National Unity, was largely focused on various policy, legislative and institutional reforms with very limited capacity for policy making, coordination and monitoring and evaluation as well as long-term planning.Â

Change or Consistency? A Historical Overview of South Africa's Post-apartheid Foreign Policy

Strategic Review for Southern Africa ◽

10.35293/srsa.v41i2.308 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Lona Gqiza

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Historical Analysis ◽

African Continent ◽

International Affairs ◽

African Region ◽

Nelson Mandela ◽

Role Conception ◽

National Congress ◽

This study examines the trajectory of South Africa's post-apartheid foreign policy by establishing the extent of change or consistency in its implementation since 1994. Under the ruling African National Congress (ANC), South Africa has emerged as a promising international actor, particularly within the Southern African region and on the African continent in general. The authors provide a historical analysis of the major trajectories of foreign policy articulation under the administrations of Presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma spanning the period 1994 to 2018. In investigating the conception and execution of foreign policy under these dispensations, the authors unravel a consistent but skewed pattern of national role conception that underscores Pretoria’s vision to be a major actor in international affairs, both regionally and globally. We conclude that South Africa’s foreign policy during this period was marked by Mandela’s altruism, Mbeki’s Afrocentrism and the antediluvian signature of Zuma.

Восток Афро-Азиатские общества история и современность ◽

Reminisces of Participants in the Struggle against Apartheid about Studying in the USSR (1960s–1980s)

10.31857/s086919080016946-7 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 191

Author(s):

Daria A. Turianitsa

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

South African ◽

White People ◽

South Africans ◽

The Soviet Union ◽

Racial Perceptions ◽

Freedom Fighters ◽

State Of Affairs ◽

This article is a review of South African cadets’ and students’ memoirs that received political or/and military education in the Soviet Union as a part of Soviet assistance in solidarity against the apartheid. Most of them were fighters of the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) “Umkhonto we Sizwe”. This paper examines and cites the curious aspects of Soviet life noted by the arriving students, among whom was the ex-President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, as well as many former and current high-ranking authorities of this country. It is worth saying that the authors of the published recollections highlighted not only the positive aspects of their stay in the Soviet Union, but also did mentioned some negative sides, thus providing a more “complete” picture. However, one should not forget that in many ways the description of certain events was directly related to the student’s outlook and could differ from the real state of affairs. The authors of this article were especially interested in what trainees expected to see in the USSR, how their relations with Soviet citizens were built, and what experience they kept in mind at the end of their studies. The authors tried, partially quoting the memoirs of some freedom fighters, to answer these questions. It is worth pointing out that as one of the main results of cooperation Soviet officers and other instructors, by their own example, were able to change the racial perceptions of South Africans by showing how “white” people could be.

Leadership Qualities to Foster a Sustainable South African Democracy

Developments in Administration ◽

10.46996/dina.v2i1.5107 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 23-37

Author(s):

Liezel Lues

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Wealth Creation ◽

Leadership Qualities ◽

The Past ◽

Nelson Mandela ◽

African Context ◽

Unique Approach ◽

Leadership Approaches ◽

A democracy requires leaders who demonstrate skills that will strengthen the dispensation, set an example and gain respect, nationally and internationally. Since 1994, South Africa (SA) has had three presidents, each responsible for shaping the country according to his own unique approach. Their leadership has played a crucial role in determining the future of the country over the past 23 years, some areas have been strengthened, but unfortunately others have become weaker than before. It seems that President Nelson Mandela focused on reconciliation. The approach of Thabo Mbeki, his successor, was strategically different in that it focused on the realization of the importance of economic development and wealth creation. During the consequent Zuma era, the concept of leadership was transformed to focus on charisma and populism. The aim of this paper is to review the fundamental, prevailing leadership approaches in SA in the period since the country became a democracy in 1994. The challenges facing South African leaders will be clustered in two themes, namely leadership and economy. Against this backdrop, a theoretical, yet practical discussion is conducted in an attempt to answer the following question: What fundamental leadership qualities are required to ensure a sustainable democracy in the Southern African context?

The Republic of South Africa

The History and Growth of Judicial Review, Volume 1 ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190075774.003.0010 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 337-362

Author(s):

Steven Gow Calabresi

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Judicial Review ◽

Constitutional Court ◽

Bill Of Rights ◽

South Africans ◽

Nelson Mandela ◽

Basic Law ◽

The Republic

This chapter explores the origins and growth of judicial review in South Africa. Judicial review originated in South Africa in 1994 for rights from wrongs reasons. The great moral wrongs of racist Afrikaner and British imperial rule could only be overcome with a new Democratic Constitution, accepted by blacks and whites, with a very generous Bill of Rights that is enforced by a very powerful Constitutional Court. The African National Congress (ANC) party, led by Nelson Mandela, had called for a Bill of Rights and judicial review ever since the 1950s. In the 1990’s, the ANC got its wish. South African judicial review also result, in part, from borrowing. South Africans borrowed heavily from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of 1982 and from the German Basic Law of 1949. South Africa particularly borrowed from Germany the idea of creating one very powerful Constitutional Court, which alone has the power of judicial review in South Africa.

Hegemony, leadership, and integration in South Africa

Regions & Cohesion ◽

10.3167/reco.2014.040107 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 110-116

Author(s):

Robert W. Compton Jr.

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Political Power ◽

The South ◽

The Future ◽

National Congress ◽

The African National Congress and the regeneration of political power, S. Booysen, 2011. Wits University Press.Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, D. Acemoglu & J. Robinson, 2012. Crown Publishing (Random House). A Legacy of Liberation: Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South African Dream, M. Gevisser, 2009. Palgrave-Macmillan.

South Africa and the Idea of Peaceful Change

The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Change in International Relations ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190097356.013.33 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Peter Vale

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Political Violence ◽

African State ◽

African Region ◽

Peace Accord ◽

The Public ◽

Nelson Mandela ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

A Minor ◽

The formation of the South African state rested on the exclusion of the majority with the result that for almost a century, the recourse to state (and other) violence resided with the white minority. As a result, the idea of peace and peaceful change lay outside the vocabulary of politics and policymaking. The country had to learn the language of peace, peace-making, and peaceful change after decades of war talk. In the 1980s, following the escalation in domestic political violence, setbacks in the southern African region, and international sanctions, the notion of “negotiation” emerged in the public sphere. The signing of a national peace accord stabilized the idea of peace in the formal frame of politics. Using the optic of human rights, Nelson Mandela set out a pathway for the country to play a role in promoting the idea of South Africa’s place in fostering peaceful change as apartheid was ending. The successes and failures of South Africa’s early foreign policy initiatives are critically assessed, especially the country’s role in Africa. Interest also falls on the reasons for the decline in the country’s international relations after the presidency of Mandela’s successor, Thabo Mbeki. In a minor key, the chapter probes the issue of whose voice matters in determining what constitutes peaceful change.

Second Chance for the ANC: The 1999 South African General Election

Government and Opposition ◽

10.1111/j.1477-7053.1999.tb00165.x ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 456-472

Author(s):

J E. Spence

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Political Development ◽

South Africans ◽

The Status ◽

Democratic Election ◽

To Come ◽

Run Up ◽

The Impact ◽

On 2 june 1999 south africans went to the polls in the country's second democratic election. At issue in the electoral debate were: the government's mixed record of achievement since the first contest in April 1994; the prospect of significant improvement in economic performance and the promised delivery of social goods to the deprived black majority; the personality and capability of Thabo Mbeki, President Mandela's chosen successor; and the impact of victory for the African National Congress (ANC) on the status and role of the parliamentary opposition in the years to come. The first part of this article, therefore, seeks to provide a commentary on events since 1994 to set the 1999 election in context.Perhaps the most encouraging feature of South Africa's political development has been the survival and consolidation of the democratic process. Critics of the Mandela era tend to take this for granted; but it is no mean achievement especially in view of the violence which disfigured both the multi-party negotiating process and the run-up to the 1994 election and the threat of more to come to destabilize a new and untried regime.