num_pages: 224
description: The most surprising aspect of South Africa's transition has been the speed of the move from National Party government, based on white Afrikaaner support, to one dominated by the ANC, with overwhelming support among Africans except in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. In this stimulating study, Adrian Guelke argues that the widely-held view of the emergence of the new South Africa as a modern miracle has to be viewed with extreme caution. The author begins in the 1980s when political analysts spoke of political impasse and when the ""elusive search for peace"" seemed mired in insoluble problems. He considers the period from the release of Mandela up to the 1994 elections and argues that the undoubted success story must be seen against the background of exploding economic and social problems, as well as polarization on racial lines, reinforced by ANC dominance. South Africa's path to majority rule bears a strong resemblance to that of other formerly white settler-dominated states like Kenya, Zimbabwe and Namibia; but the ""miracle"" has been misunderstood and the political achievement overshadowed by the problems inherited from the old regime.
language: English
title: South Africa in Transition: The Misunderstood Miracle
titlecomplete: South Africa in Transition: The Misunderstood Miracle (International Library of African Studies)
ratings_count: 2
publisher: I.B.Tauris