After 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. Mandela’s success was of universal importance, and Mandela was known as a symbol of hope to all African Americans. He inspired South Africa to once again have pride in itself as a country. Nelson Mandela was a legendary leader. He renewed South Africa’s confidence in itself by refusing to become a victim, and by inspiring and uniting the citizens. Mandela advocated for universal values such as freedom of speech, human rights, and democracy. “What made him stand out was precisely his vision of a state that belongs equally to all its different peoples” (nobelprize.org). Previously corrupt, inefficient, and unstable South Africa became efficient,
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According to Oxford Dictionaries, apartheid is a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race. Apartheid was a system put into place by the National Party in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Mandela was a supporter of democracy, so when he came into power he created a democratic government. According to Richard Dowden, Mandela’s belief in freedom, democracy, and justice sounded like something from another planet to other African leaders. Mandela continued to fight for what he believed in even though he was not fully supported. During the National Party’s rule blacks, women, and homosexuals were oppressed in South Africa. They had very little rights compared to white men. Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) wrote a new and more liberal constitution which created more rights for women and homosexuals. According to Ryan Bullen, women’s rights were a joke and gay rights were unmentionable in most of Africa. He also stated that in many African states, homosexuality was a crime. Mandela’s support of citizen’s rights and freedom made him likeable and supported, but it also conflicted with many African customs and beliefs. These conflicts made Mandela’s ideas controversial, and made South Africa very different from the rest of …show more content…
According to the John Sides, Nelson Mandela would often make up foreign policy over the phone as he went along, and in his older years forgot to brief his staff of these policies. This seems highly unorganized and almost ridiculous. Mandela also did nothing during the Rwanda genocide which was very surprising to the South African people. To make up for this, he tried to take the lead in the Burundi peace process and failed (Bullen). He took a lead in other political crises as well. “In 1996, Congo-then Zaire- was in crisis and Mandela tried to broker peace between President Mobutu Sese Seko and the rebels… backed by Rwanda and Uganda” (Dowden). This was to no avail. According to Dowden he did not succeed and at a power-sharing agreement and Kabila (rebels) pressed on to take the whole country. Mandela was also not well liked in parts of Africa. According to Bullen, Nigeria’s foreign minister called Mandela “the black president of a white state” after Mandela tried to get involved in a Nigerian
According to Oxford Dictionaries, apartheid is a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race. Apartheid was a system put into place by the National Party in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Mandela was a supporter of democracy, so when he came into power he created a democratic government. According to Richard Dowden, Mandela’s belief in freedom, democracy, and justice sounded like something from another planet to other African leaders. Mandela continued to fight for what he believed in even though he was not fully supported. During the National Party’s rule blacks, women, and homosexuals were oppressed in South Africa. They had very little rights compared to white men. Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) wrote a new and more liberal constitution which created more rights for women and homosexuals. According to Ryan Bullen, women’s rights were a joke and gay rights were unmentionable in most of Africa. He also stated that in many African states, homosexuality was a crime. Mandela’s support of citizen’s rights and freedom made him likeable and supported, but it also conflicted with many African customs and beliefs. These conflicts made Mandela’s ideas controversial, and made South Africa very different from the rest of …show more content…
According to the John Sides, Nelson Mandela would often make up foreign policy over the phone as he went along, and in his older years forgot to brief his staff of these policies. This seems highly unorganized and almost ridiculous. Mandela also did nothing during the Rwanda genocide which was very surprising to the South African people. To make up for this, he tried to take the lead in the Burundi peace process and failed (Bullen). He took a lead in other political crises as well. “In 1996, Congo-then Zaire- was in crisis and Mandela tried to broker peace between President Mobutu Sese Seko and the rebels… backed by Rwanda and Uganda” (Dowden). This was to no avail. According to Dowden he did not succeed and at a power-sharing agreement and Kabila (rebels) pressed on to take the whole country. Mandela was also not well liked in parts of Africa. According to Bullen, Nigeria’s foreign minister called Mandela “the black president of a white state” after Mandela tried to get involved in a Nigerian