Author : C. Alden
Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780333637951
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (379 download)
Book Synopsis Apartheid's Last Stand by : C. Alden
Download or read book Apartheid's Last Stand written by C. Alden and published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book was released on 1996-02-28 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Apartheid's Last Stand is an original study which sets out to demonstrate how and why the apartheid state was neither able to maintain white dominance of the political system nor capable of reforming itself. The book's central argument is that the South African government consciously developed and introduced a programme of limited reforms in accordance with the guiding principles of counter-revolutionary strategy and the so-called 'liberal' vision of apartheid. Rejected by the majority of South Africans, President P.W. Botha nonetheless doggedly pursued state-managed reform through the imposition of stringent security measures to combat dissent at home and isolation abroad. The ensuing stalemate between South African government and the forces of revolution was only overcome with the ousting of military influence in South Africa and the ending of the Cold War. These circumstances laid the foundation for the reconciliation between Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, giving birth to a new democratic South Africa.