South Africa’s Hegemonic Position

To what extent was the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910 an effort to combat Black political awareness?

The county of South Africa is an economically flourishing country and probably the most advanced country on the continent of Africa. However the entire continent of Africa is probably the most undeveloped part of the world. Why is South Africa so different from the rest of its continent? Karen Politis Virk explains that it is because of South Africa’s developed economy and diverse population (Virk 40). South Africa has three main ethnic groups: African, Afrikaners, and the mixed race. The Afrikaners and mixed races have many roots to Europe and Asia giving the nation even more diversity and a culture melting pot. This set the nation apart from the rest of the African nation in which the majority of the residents are of native African

Together, these three factors of Imperialism shaped the future of South Africa in the second half of the 20th century. Although South Africa was fundamentally independent during this time period, there were irreversible changes made in the mentality of the South African citizens. For instance, the

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

In recent years, there have been efforts to understand the institution of apartheid in South Africa. From the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to general study into the history of South Africa, much scholarship has been devoted to the study of the effects of apartheid and the atrocities committed in the post-World War II period. However, one topic remains largely un-researched—the origins of the vast apartheid structure instituted by the Herenigde (Reunited) National Party (HNP) in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, different and larger than any other nation’s program . Apartheid had long existed in most nations, but its continued stay is a South African peculiarity . Although most African nations had similar racial discrimination

Trailblazers and change agents are men and women who dared the odds and sacrificed their freedom for the gain of others. Great leaders live among the masses; the quality of their service, humility, dedication, and selflessness distinguishes them from the populace. These great leaders are munificent men and women who are independent in their thinking. One such man, Nelson Mandela, delivered “Acceptance and Nobel Lecture” in 1993 for his contributions to the “peaceful termination of the apartheid rule and for laying the foundations of a new democratic South Africa.” (Nobel Prize) Mandela begins building his credibility with facts and statistics, and employing emotional appeal and ultimately sustaining the readers’ interest.

Nazi practices during World War II were so horrific that many countries began to feel shame about internal racial problems in home countries. In France, the United Kingdom, and the United States liberal politicians and intellectuals began to condemn racism against non-whites and push for civil rights reforms. South Africa, however, did not follow the same route. The White minority of South Africa decided to build a state based on total "separation" (apartheid) of whites and blacks where the former would totally dominate the latter in political, economic, and social spheres. The policy of apartheid would eventually be condemned by civil rights advocates around the world as "the most repressive government since Nazi Germany" (Robinson, 1985). Apartheid was built on racism, discrimination, and oppression of the majority by the minority. But as a policy it began after the end of World War II in a particular context of the nation.

South Africa plays a role as a leader come out of Africa and engaging in Africa or through whom the established powers could engage with Africa. The Mbeki administration argues that the role given to South Africa was a role South Africa took on its own. The errors in South Africa playing the role of regional power may have developed during Mandela’s phase, due to over doing of goodwill. Thabo Mbeki’s role was to try bring South Africa to be a regional power and this is seen in the formation of the institutions. The rest of Africa contests the influence that South Africa has over it due to South Africa being unskilled and young in terms of its establishment and its failure to save its domestic challenges. So dressing the issues domestically and taking the issues of conflict resolution, of investment, representation of the g8, and WTO, would be a hard task. Nevertheless, currently there is no concrete evidence for an alternative of the leadership South Africa has provided and can provide. This is the dilemma that Africa has found itself in.

To promote regional peace and stability through showing respect for justice and law in the relationship among countries of the region and loyalty to the principles of the United Nations Charter;

A lot has already been written about the oppression the third world faces today, even after gaining their independence in the twentieth century. The theory which goes by the name of “economic imperialism” is therefore not new, it differs with other postcolonial however in its specificity. Whereas “neocolonialism” or “recolonization” refers to oppression on both the political and social, as well as the economic level, economic imperialism only refers to the economic - to the creation of unequal and dependency relations between the first and third world . John Saul, in his book decolonization and empire, describes economic imperialism as a “process of quiet self-conscious and unapologetic resubordination of much of the global South to a western-centered

The twentieth century history of South Africa contains many struggles and obstacles as its people worked towards creating a more unified country. Modern human beings have inhabited South Africa for more than 100,000 years and a great deal of colonization has occurred within the last 300 years. During the late 18th century, 90 Dutchmen landed on the Cape of Good Hope as part of the Dutch East India Company, representing the first permanent settlers of South Africa. In 1652, they were instructed to build a fort and to start growing crops to aid the ships travelling along the Eastern trade route. Five short years later, approximately 250 white men occupied the area, bringing with them slaves to aid in growing more crops. Their farmland

South Africa 's history is a story of conflict from its very start, spurred by European settlement territorial conquest, frontier expansion, and nineteenth-century global imperialism that generated internal competition between white settlers and the black African population over land and resources such as water. Formal South African history is dated to the arrival of the Dutch East India Company in 1652 (although there were indigenous groups living there prior to the arrival of the Dutch); external rule from the metropole eventually transferred to the British in the late eighteenth century (1797). The conflict between the original Dutch-derived settlers, known as "Afrikaners" (or as "Boers," a term that later became pejorative), and British imperial rulers was heightened over differences about slavery and the exploitation of the country 's rich mineral wealth. The war between settlers and indigenous tribes and between Afrikaners and the British Empire in the Boer Wars of 1899-1902 occurred with frequency in South Africa 's past. Afrikaner settlers, known as Vootitekites, defeated a Zulu army at the Battle of Blood River in 1838. South Africa was established as an independent state in 1910, following Afrikaner defeat in the Boer Wars (Etzioni, 2009 p.21). The Union featured a political system that created a parliamentary democracy for the minority whites but that excluded majority black South Africans from exercising voting rights (Dugard, 2015 p.5). During this period, the

South Africa is very rich in culture and historical value. South Africa seems to have a contested and often conflicted history according to differencing social perspectives or opinions. Addressing current social issues within South Africa’s political system as well as the culture was previously under much scrutiny.

Amongst the numerous goals of multidisciplinary cooperation, Article 1 of the Charter mentions the following: “to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the international obligations of the member States and their national legislation; to maintain and develop relations with other States and international organizations”. Moreover Article 2 containing the Principles declares the “SCO [is] not directed against other States and international organizations”. It

From the 17th century until the early 1900’s, European countries were fighting to get tracks of land across Africa. Although South Africa was unified by Great Britain in 1910, the African National Congress was formed two years later. It was only on Dec 11, 1931 after World War II when Britain gave South Africa its’ independence as a country. For the first sixty years after South Africa was claimed independent, white minority rulers dominated the country. South Africa is now an independent Nation but is still a member of the British Commonwealth.