POLI 211 Chapter Notes -Electoral Roll, Meson, Eastern Cape
12 Dec 2012
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Seeks to escape a bitter political legacy. During the 2nd of the 20th century the white minority government built a powerful/militarized state around institutions of racial oppression. Discovery of minerals enabled the development of the industrial economy. Africans and european settlers were in close contact in the country"s burgeoning urban areas. Political conflicts erupted between blacks who provided labor and whites who benefits from economic growth. Old regime was dead set against political change until the late 1980s. Apartheid (extreme racial segregation) seemed destined to end in violence. Political leaders from both sides (especially nelson mandela, president of the african national congress) realized long-term interest of south africa"s divided communities were intertwined. The opponents forged an elite pact that allowed the country to hold an open election and to install the first democratic government in 1994. The transition marked the end of colonial rule in africa and the burial of the last 20th century government based on racial supremacy.
