“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.” Abraham Lincoln
“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow creatures is to be fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.” William Wilberforce
“There is no such thing as part-freedom. The time comes in the life of any nation when there remains only two choices – submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defense of our people.” Nelson Mandela
“I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move. I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” Rosa Parks
Over the last century, conflicts such as the apartheid movement in South Africa and the Civil Rights movement in the United States have captured world wide attention and have often been the source for international, regional and domestic political pressure which bring to the forefront the issue of human rights and equality for all members of a state regardless of class, race or gender. At the core of these historical battles of apartheid and civil rights are central themes and principals of freedom, dignity and justice which are basic components of a free and democratic society. In the cases of apartheid and civil rights issues which resulted in white supremacy, created a culture based upon segregation that reached all facets of society; segregated living communities, schools, universities, hospitals, churches, and work places were all susceptible to a segregated society. Black citizens were stripped of their voting rights, land ownership rights, access to good education and acceptable healthcare, among other basic services and were forced to endure public humiliations which dictated the manner in which they lived their daily lives.
The South African apartheid struggle brought about much international debate that centered on conflict resolution, negotiations and peacekeeping. International actors such as the
United Nations and the United States and Europe eventually placed pressure on the government of South Africa to end the apartheid era by holding democrat elections and allowing equal rights for all citizens. For a time however, the concept of conflict resolution, negotiation, and peacemaking and peace keeping strategies were being played out not by conventional diplomatic approaches to conflict resolution, but by violence and aggressive demonstrations primarily in frustration at a lack of any positive changes emerging to end the apartheid. In the case of South Africa this occurred when the parties facilitated power tactics in conflict in a number of ways. The ones primarily discussed here are: direct application, necessary power, indirect use of power, and hidden power. The first approach to power use in conflicts is direct application. This approach occurs when the stronger power uses brute force (violence) to eliminate, diminish the weaker party. The second use of power is what is referred to as necessary power. This occurs when the stronger party threatens the use of violence if necessary and has the means to bring about physical conflict with a second party. A third aspect of power usage is the indirect use of power. This can occur through a third party or by non-immediately visible means. The fourth usage of power is the hidden power. Hidden power occurs when the party in control is effectively able to suppress or keep buried possible sources of conflict. (Folger, 2009) These various tactics are easily seen in the case of apartheid struggle in South Africa.
For the purpose of this case study, I wish to analyze the South African Apartheid struggle and subsequently test the peace negotiation methods used in the conflict to create a model for peacemaking based upon our findings in the anti-Apartheid peace plan. To do so, the main text I will be using is by Marina Ottaway, author of South Africa: Struggle for a New Order, of which I
will use as a basis for formulating and supporting arguments for proposed peace plans. I will first outline the South African apartheid case and conclude with strategies that were implemented into the peace plan outlined in the case study.
To give the reader an overview before focusing on Ottaway’s work, Apartheid in South Africa began formally in 1948 when the National Party government passed apartheid laws which legalized the segregation of society and categorized it into four main racial classifications: blacks, whites, colored’s, Indians and Asians. Segregation informally began in South Africa under colonial rule when the British began colonizing South Africa in the late 1800’s and began implementing tough regulations on movements of blacks out of what was considered by the British to be tribal areas and into areas reserved for whites under colonial rule. The regulation of movement created an evening curfew that facilitated into existence the pass laws. The “Franchise and Ballet Act” of 1892 and the 1905 “General Pass Regulations Bill” relinquished all voting rights for black and Indian citizens. Due to colonial trade ties with the Orient, Asian citizens did not suffer quite the same regulation as blacks and Indians; however, their rights were not equal with whites.
In addition to the voting ban, tough regulations followed requiring all Indians and blacks to carry identification and in 1910 the “South Africa Act” was passed which ushered in unquestionable supremacy for whites. The colonial powers continued to usher in laws in favor of segregating the population under the method of having complete political control and passed the “Native Land Act” of 1913 that prevented the black population from buying land outside certain tribal areas in an effort to begin a settlement process that would push black and Indian
populations away from their white counterparts. The immediate years that followed brought about new laws being passed that prevented blacks from entering certain professions in what was termed the “Color Bar Act” of 1926. The subsequent bills that followed, carried through until 1946 under the authorship of the British, and effectively paved the way for the National Party government in 1948 to form a government based upon complete political power by the white population, though the percentage of the black population was overwhelmingly the majority at 79.6%. (Thompson, 2001. pp 120-243)
The period of 1948 ushered in the general elections of the National Party, which merged with the Afrikaner party and the Smuts party after their respective party losses, and as described vividly by Ottaway, was in the procedure of working out its strategy for implementing its primary goal of land division and segregating the population geographically under the “Group Areas Act” of 1950. The National Party continued facilitating procedures and processes established by the colonial powers of racial division by classification of blacks, whites, colored’s, and Indians and Asians, and in 1953, the National Party (NP) began social segregation which included creating separate recreation areas such as parks and beaches, separate mass transportation systems (buses), universities and schools, as well as healthcare facilities, cinemas and churches. Ottway contends that churches were somewhat exempt from following laws based upon prohibiting the mixing of the sects in worship. While the Church’s Native Laws Amendment Act was passed in 1957, it was one law that was not strictly adhered to or enforced. (Ottoway, 1993, pg 58)
Another goal of the National Party was to create a definitive structure of tribalism which would create subgroups of blacks thus ensuring “mini - states” were created by which the black population could rule itself to a certain extent while ensuring geographical lines were adhered to. In this system, the black population would have its own elected independent government that would provide housing, education, health care, and all the services a population would require. Ottaway’s analysis contends that the NP had limited power in the local arena dictating laws and ensuring the constituent base adhered to its strict guidelines, but instead contends the local councils were controlled by tertiary parties which had limited power at the national level. It can be argued the NP acted more as a federal entity with tertiary parties acting as state regulators. (Ottoway, 1993, pg 87)
With as much as the church law was dismissed, the Population Registration Act of 1953 was oppositely and strictly enforced and created a system whereby citizens were subjected to declare their race which resulted in catastrophic changes, particularly for the colored population. Each race had constructed territories in which it was forced to reside. This law forced colored families who were constructed of a white father and black mother to be separated by class and sometimes geographically from their families. The goal of the established government was to create homelands for the various ethnically based black populations which would run according to the tribal system which would create independence and a certain degree of autonomy for the mini states. The governments approach and goal for these smaller independent states was that it would drive the blacks from white population areas which offered jobs, and instead redirect them to facilitate working industry within their respective homelands. This process was set into motion, but deteriorated quickly due to resource depletion and an inability to produce basic
needs for its population. Ottaway describes the condition of the townships and homeland areas as a critical crisis in the development of the state. The townships rapid population growth, coupled with the inability to facilitate a proper standard of living, one that provided basic services to its constituents such as adequate water, clean living conditions, food and housing, were driving townships into a state of crisis and emergency. As a result of demonstrations in opposition to the deteriorating living conditions in which the constituent base refused or couldn’t pay rent, the government turned off what electricity it had been providing which only served to exasperate the situation. Ottoway contends, however, that the structure of the society remained in tact in spite of the decaying social conditions which Ottaway contends this as one of the most striking distinctiveness of South Africa at this time and suggests that the size of the township, however miniscule, maintained its structural democratic order. (Ottoway, 1993, pg 148)
An analysis of the creation of the government’s establishment with the NP being the major party after the end of colonialism brings us to an examination of the federal government from the time period of 1948 – 1993 as outlined by Ottaway. The main focus of the new government in regards to creating a justification for its action was to create a constitution which was derived and built on the policies of colonialism but was fitted to the African experience. Ottaway’s main criticism or argument in then constitution construction of 1948 was that it was created on the ideals of western thought and entrusted to foreign professionals to write. The result is that the South African population had little desire to support the new constitution of which it felt little ownership. (Ottaway, 1993, 88-90) Another factor which led to non support for the constitution was a result of a series of amendments to the constitution which only aided in disenfranchising the black community when changes were made to the constitution that further kept them as segregated members of society. The NP, however, due to the international community pressures, was decreasing its hard line stance on apartheid and trying to implement ways to maintain white supremacy and control while giving the illusion of being democratically oriented to all members of society.
The apartheid movement did not come without strong internal resistance movements of which Ottoway describes their role in bringing about effective change in segregation laws. In the late 1940’s, the African National Congress formed to lead a strong movement to force white supremacy from South Africa. The ANC that suffered great oppression under the PN and which was termed a terrorist organization up until the 1990’s helped to facilitate major victories in abolishing apartheid. Ottoway’s analysis of the police brutality in dealing with the ANC the Pan Africanist Congress which formed in the late 1950’s which led to the organization of the state security forces in combating opposition groups, as a central theme to apartheid conflict. The national government was able, through the national security forces, was able to effectively squash opposition activity by jailing and killing its members who spoke out in opposition to the government.
The period of the 1070’s and 1980’s brought about a series of processes to repeal the segregation laws that were passed in the 1980’s, namely the Group Areas Act, the Population Registration Act, the Land Act during the parliament sessions of the early 1990’s. At this stage the ANC was enjoying an overwhelming support, domestically, regionally and intermittent international support for its opposition (though the United States considered it a terrorist organization) and was effectively pressing for constitutional reforms. Adversely, the 1983 election failed to bring about enough change to end apartheid despite government claims the system had been formally abolished. In addition, the elections of 1948 and 1993 brought accusations of gerrymandering which only served to exacerbate third party negotiators that had been placed by the international community to ensure fair elections were originating. In addition, the ANC looked at the redesign of the geographical lines as a scheme to achieve separate development and another failed policy reform in the settlement issue that was a major point of conflict between the ANC and the PN. Ottoway concludes that the ploy was a scheme by the government to prevent majority rule but give the illusion of a democratic fairness for both parties. The knowledge that a democratic government would put the majority of the population, the black community at 79.6%, if all voted in clear power control over the parliament, both legislative and executive. (Ottoway, 1993, 89-91)