Originally published in 1987, South Africa in Crisis documents the perceptions and policies of all the major interest groups in South Africa during the 1980s when the long-running struggle for ultimate political power in South Africa entered a new phase. It analyses their responses to the state of ferment and vicious circle of political and economic decline which ensued in the anti-apartheid struggle and examines the developing pressures both from within and outside the country. Of particular importance for the process was the relationship between internal reactions to the crisis and the diverse and unprecedented set of political, military and economic pressures which were interjected from abroad.
1. Introduction Jesmond Blumenfeld 2. Economy Under Siege Jesmond Blumenfeld 3. Reform: Destruction or Modernization of Apartheid? Merle Lipton 4. Whither the White Oligarchy? Stanley Uys 5. The Black Opposition Martin Meredith 6. The Black Trade Unions: From Economics to Politics Robin Smith 7. Political Violence and the Security Response Simon Baynham 8. Constitutional Proposals: The Middle Ground Murray Forsyth 9. Constitutional Compromises in Divided Societies Adrian Guelke 10. Foreign Policy: Retreat into the Laager J. E. Spence 11. Regional Policy: The Compulsion to Incorporate Peter Vale.
Biography
Jesmond Blumenfeld was Associate Senior Lecturer in Economics at Brunel University, London and Africa Region Head at Oxford Analytica Lt and formerly Chairman of the Chatham House Southern Africa Study Group.
‘The chapters are written by established figures in the field and are uniformly clear and well informed.’ James Barber, University of Durham in International Affairs, Vol 64, No. 1.
