South Africa's Transition of Democracy

racist legislation in South Africa was brought to, and discussed in, the United Nations in 1952, 6 years after India first voiced its concerns for the treatment of Indian people living in the nation. The South African government objected to any UN intervention by reasons of maintaining its sovereignty, and many western nations agreed; “[…] apartheid [is] part of the internal affairs of [South Africa], and for this reason [falls] beyond the scope of the United Nations” (South African History…

child was known worldwide as Nelson Mandela, and would soon be known as one of the world’s most famous heroes worldwide. The story begins with Mandela’s birth on July 18, 1918, into the royal family of the Xhosa-speaking Thembu tribe. Located in the South African village of Mvezo, Mandela’s father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa served as the village’s chief. Mandela’s mother, Nosekeni…

The inspiring and courageous leader Nelson Mandela, originally called Rolihlahla Mandela, was born on July 18, 1918, in the small village of Mvezo, by the Mbashe River in Transkei, South Africa. In his tribe, the Thembu tribe, his father Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa was chief. That is until he died of lung cancer when Mandela was only 9 years old. As a favor for his father, Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the acting regent of the Thembu people, adopted Mandela. He was forced to move to Mqhekezweni, the…

The legacy of Apartheid in South Africa is one of violence, oppression, and segregation by the white dominated National Party against blacks and non-coloreds that lasted from 1948 to 1994. This policy of segregation by means of racial classification meant that non-whites were treated as second class citizens, not worthy of voting rights, representation, or even basic human rights. It insured that the minority white population would stay in power as it controlled the government, economic and…

Imagine South Africa’s situation today- if Nelson Mandela had never fought for the rights of humanity. Since colonial times, colored-people in South Africa were seen as second-class despite the clear non-white majority. Any person not classified as white, was treated as a lesser man. At this point, the idea of racial equality seemed impossible. Until this one man gave up his life and his own safety to ultimately change the world. Nelson Mandela abolished racial inequality within South Africa and…

different aspects of this goal. Specifically, there are two countries that contributed in achieving this goal, which are South Africa and India. In the 1990’s, while transitioning to democracy, South African feminists contributed in having a nonracist and nonsexist society. While in India, citizens hoped to seek awareness to women discrimination in the political era. In 1994, South Africa became a democratic nation that had many people wondering what it would be like for the women, mainly…

pride in where they come from. “There is no African Renaissance without African unity. When Africans overcome their differences to unite, then true African Renaissance will be realized.” (Jacobs & Calland 2002: 258) The second issue is addressing Africa’s poverty. Mbeki believes that the focus should not be on reducing poverty but rather to eradicate it completely. To address underdevelopment, Mbeki (2013) emphasises that infrastructure needs to be advanced, “not only for energy and transport…

Democracy in Africa has only flourished for 20 years or so, facing many problems some unique to certain countries and some broad that encompass a majority of countries. In a small quantity of countries, autocrats are still in power and or are divided in war. However, most countries have multiparty elections more frequently. Nonetheless, a majority of these counties engage in this mock democracy, which has certain aspects of democracy but the actions make it not truly a democracy. For example,…

control over African culture had terribly detrimental effects. European nations convinced many Africans that their culture was primitive, unorganized, and essentially unfit to support a proper democracy. Western ideology taught black people in Africa to reject their culture if they hoped to attain a level of democracy. Europe’s control over the value of African culture was so strong that prominent leaders within the African nationalist movement believed that they had to alienate themselves from…

It also marks the year which some might refer to as the New World where Columbus through his inquisition discovered America. Columbus first voyage was treated differently by many. Some people believe it to be the beginning of the new world where democracy, civilisation and different forms of arts were introduced whilst others mostly those of African descent, identified Columbus with imperialism, colonialism and conquest. Historians still debate as to whether he should be remembered as the…