For more than 40 years the South African National Party (NP) was in power governing the country with a racist system of segregation. For the black and colored majority of the country it was a time of fear, harassment, persecution and injustice. Throughout the years the global community was aware of the political situation in South Africa. The major issue of this paper is to examine the positions and campaigns of different countries of the global community toward the situation in South Africa, especially focusing on political and economic reactions from the sixties until 1989.
First of all a brief overview will be given on the economics of the apartheid system in order to create an awareness of the general conditions whereupon the strategic importance of South Africa for the global community will be issued. In order to mediate a sufficient background knowledge sanctions will be defined and different sanction scenarios that were possible will be discussed. Subsequently a chronology of sanctions towards South Africa will be given in order to then focus on The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), its interests in and reactions towards the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Due to the limitation of this paper Germany will be taken as an example for the policies of many Western states. However, several countries will be briefly discussed throughout the paper.
While analyzing the different positions during the apartheid era two major questions will be guiding through the paper:
1. How did the countries react?
2. What was/could have been the interest behind the reaction?
Finally by having answered these questions a conclusion can be drawn as to whether the global community used all the existing possibilities to help bring apartheid to an end.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The economics of the apartheid regime
2.1 The strategic importance of South Africa
2.1.1 The importance of the Cape Route
2.1.2 South Africa’s mineral wealth
3. Sanctions
3.1 Definition and distinction
3.2 The legal situation of the international context
3.3 A chronology of sanctions to the RSA
3.4 Evaluation of the sanction imposed on the RSA
4. The Federal Republic of Germany and the RSA
4.1 Germany’s foreign policy towards South Africa
4.2 Economic relations
4.3 Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the political and economic responses of the global community toward the South African apartheid regime from the 1960s to 1989. It focuses on the strategic interests that influenced Western policy and evaluates the effectiveness of international sanctions in bringing about political change.
- Analysis of the South African economic system and its strategic significance.
- Definition and categorization of international sanctions applied against the RSA.
- Case study of the Federal Republic of Germany's foreign and economic policy.
- Assessment of the success and failure of sanction policies during the apartheid era.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.1 The importance of the Cape Route
South Africa’s geo-political and geo-strategic situation became very important to the West in the past three to four decades as world trade expanded. The Cape of Good Hope is the link between the Indian and Atlantic Ocean. The sea routes from the Persian Gulf, Asia and Australia meet at this point. In the eighties between 15000 (Brill 1991:131) and 27000 (Bowman 1985:122) ships passed those sea routes annually transporting 60 percent of the American and 20 percent of the European crude oil demand. Moreover 25 percent of European food deliveries have to pass the Cape Route every year. In 1967 the Suez Canal had to be closed. During the long time of its closure the Cape route became the most important sea route for crude oil transportation and even after its reopening the oil supertankers were too large to pass the Suez Canal and thus retained their route (Bowman 1985:122). Following charts will demonstrate the importance of the Cape route as a major trade route for the western world:
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the political climate under the National Party and introduces the core research questions regarding the international response to apartheid.
2. The economics of the apartheid regime: This section provides an overview of South Africa's economic development, emphasizing its mineral wealth and the strategic significance of the Cape Route.
3. Sanctions: This chapter categorizes different forms of sanctions, details their chronology, and evaluates the legal framework and effectiveness of these measures.
4. The Federal Republic of Germany and the RSA: The final chapter analyzes the specific foreign and economic policy of West Germany as an example of Western interaction with the apartheid regime.
Keywords
Apartheid, South Africa, Sanctions, National Party, Cape Route, Mineral Wealth, Foreign Policy, Federal Republic of Germany, Economic Relations, Arms Embargo, International Relations, Strategic Interest, Political Isolation, Trade Boycott, Diplomacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper focuses on the international community's political and economic reactions to the apartheid regime in South Africa between the 1960s and 1989.
What are the central thematic fields discussed?
The central themes include the economics of the apartheid regime, the strategic importance of South Africa to Western powers, the definition and application of international sanctions, and the specific foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
What is the primary research question of this study?
The paper asks how various nations reacted to the situation in South Africa and what strategic or economic interests motivated those specific reactions.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The work utilizes a descriptive and evaluative historical analysis, comparing official state rhetoric with actual economic and political behaviors toward the South African regime.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body examines the economic foundations of apartheid, the legal and historical context of global sanctions, and a detailed case study of the FRG's relations with South Africa.
What key terms characterize this research?
Key terms include Apartheid, economic sanctions, strategic importance, mineral wealth, foreign policy, and diplomatic relations.
How did South Africa manage to mitigate the effects of international sanctions?
The South African government utilized strategies such as establishing a dual-exchange rate system, stockpiling oil, developing domestic armament industries (ARMSCOR), and exploiting sanction-busting loopholes via third-party countries.
Why does the author argue that the Cape Route argument was often rhetorical?
The author notes that critics questioned the military logic of using the Cape Route for blockades, suggesting that Western reliance on it was often overstated to justify maintaining political and economic ties with the NP government.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Sahar Farman (Autor:in), 2007, The history of the ANC and the Tripartite Alliance, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/114223
