The Independent International Commission on Kosovo
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199243099
- eISBN:
- 9780191599538
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199243093.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This section is the text of an address delivered by Nelson Mandela to the Kosovo Commission's final seminar. It focuses on Africa's need for international attention and assistance to fight gross ...
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This section is the text of an address delivered by Nelson Mandela to the Kosovo Commission's final seminar. It focuses on Africa's need for international attention and assistance to fight gross violations of human rights and promote economic development in places of former and on‐going conflict such as Burundi.Less
This section is the text of an address delivered by Nelson Mandela to the Kosovo Commission's final seminar. It focuses on Africa's need for international attention and assistance to fight gross violations of human rights and promote economic development in places of former and on‐going conflict such as Burundi.
Ryan M. Irwin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199855612
- eISBN:
- 9780199979882
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199855612.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Political History, World Modern History
This conclusion begins with a vignette of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990. It then explores some aspects of the anti-apartheid movement that crested during the late 1980s, lingering on ...
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This conclusion begins with a vignette of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990. It then explores some aspects of the anti-apartheid movement that crested during the late 1980s, lingering on campaigns in Great Britain, Sweden, and the United States. The road between the postapartheid and postcolonial moments, however, was neither straight nor straightforward. The conclusion explicates some of the differences between the apartheid question in the 1980s and 1960s, and then reviews Gordian Knot’s central findings and restates its main arguments.Less
This conclusion begins with a vignette of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990. It then explores some aspects of the anti-apartheid movement that crested during the late 1980s, lingering on campaigns in Great Britain, Sweden, and the United States. The road between the postapartheid and postcolonial moments, however, was neither straight nor straightforward. The conclusion explicates some of the differences between the apartheid question in the 1980s and 1960s, and then reviews Gordian Knot’s central findings and restates its main arguments.
Elleke Boehmer
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719068782
- eISBN:
- 9781781701898
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719068782.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, World Literature
Narratives give form to and legitimate the process of post-colonial and national coming-into-being. In nationalist movements in India and Africa, leaders' tales operate as inaugural symbolic texts ...
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Narratives give form to and legitimate the process of post-colonial and national coming-into-being. In nationalist movements in India and Africa, leaders' tales operate as inaugural symbolic texts shaping and justifying configurations of status and power in the post-colonial nation(-to-be), including the interconnection of nationalist ideology and gender politics. Looked at more closely, the leader's autobiography effectively sets in motion a process of reciprocal, even circular, legitimation. This chapter looks at the independence autobiographies by national leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta. Where the story of the growth to self-consciousness of the independence leader presents as a synonym for the rise of the nation, and where that leader has historically been male, it follows that national-son figures become the inheritors of the nation's future. Throughout his autobiography, Nehru is strongly aware of the symbol-making power of nationalism; of that way in which national movements are constituted out of compelling images. The chapter also mentions the self-representation of Sarojini Naidu as a political leader.Less
Narratives give form to and legitimate the process of post-colonial and national coming-into-being. In nationalist movements in India and Africa, leaders' tales operate as inaugural symbolic texts shaping and justifying configurations of status and power in the post-colonial nation(-to-be), including the interconnection of nationalist ideology and gender politics. Looked at more closely, the leader's autobiography effectively sets in motion a process of reciprocal, even circular, legitimation. This chapter looks at the independence autobiographies by national leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta. Where the story of the growth to self-consciousness of the independence leader presents as a synonym for the rise of the nation, and where that leader has historically been male, it follows that national-son figures become the inheritors of the nation's future. Throughout his autobiography, Nehru is strongly aware of the symbol-making power of nationalism; of that way in which national movements are constituted out of compelling images. The chapter also mentions the self-representation of Sarojini Naidu as a political leader.
Francis Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263471
- eISBN:
- 9780191734786
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263471.003.0010
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This chapter considers the problems of economic transition in South Africa. It begins by discussing the country's economic problems and their historical roots. It describes some of the major factors ...
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This chapter considers the problems of economic transition in South Africa. It begins by discussing the country's economic problems and their historical roots. It describes some of the major factors that helped to shape the South Africa which President Nelson Mandela inherited when he took office in 1994 and which the country's first democratic government has been attempting to reshape since then. Finally, the chapter assesses the ways in which a historical perspective illuminates the search for effective policies to resolve the problems.Less
This chapter considers the problems of economic transition in South Africa. It begins by discussing the country's economic problems and their historical roots. It describes some of the major factors that helped to shape the South Africa which President Nelson Mandela inherited when he took office in 1994 and which the country's first democratic government has been attempting to reshape since then. Finally, the chapter assesses the ways in which a historical perspective illuminates the search for effective policies to resolve the problems.
Carrol Clarkson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780823254156
- eISBN:
- 9780823260898
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823254156.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
The Rivonia Trial, most especially Nelson Mandela’s statement from the dock in April 1964, effected a redrawing of the lines between law and politics in South Africa. Mandela and the ANC, up to the ...
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The Rivonia Trial, most especially Nelson Mandela’s statement from the dock in April 1964, effected a redrawing of the lines between law and politics in South Africa. Mandela and the ANC, up to the time of the initial hearings of the Rivonia Trial in October 1962, had been considered to operate beyond the boundaries of the law. But by giving Mandela a hearing (in both the legal and the ordinary sense of this word), the Rivonia Trial offered him a legal site from which to issue a political appeal. Mandela’s political appeal to humanity’s conscience suddenly had a spectacular and legitimate place within the overall social configuration of apartheid South Africa.Less
The Rivonia Trial, most especially Nelson Mandela’s statement from the dock in April 1964, effected a redrawing of the lines between law and politics in South Africa. Mandela and the ANC, up to the time of the initial hearings of the Rivonia Trial in October 1962, had been considered to operate beyond the boundaries of the law. But by giving Mandela a hearing (in both the legal and the ordinary sense of this word), the Rivonia Trial offered him a legal site from which to issue a political appeal. Mandela’s political appeal to humanity’s conscience suddenly had a spectacular and legitimate place within the overall social configuration of apartheid South Africa.
Ellen Cheshire
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231172059
- eISBN:
- 9780231850681
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231172059.003.0008
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter analyzes films that focus on three contrasting politicians: Richard Nixon, Abraham Lincoln, and Nelson Mandela. Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon (2008) combines both the importance of Nixon pre- ...
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This chapter analyzes films that focus on three contrasting politicians: Richard Nixon, Abraham Lincoln, and Nelson Mandela. Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon (2008) combines both the importance of Nixon pre- and post-Watergate in a highly entertaining peek behind-the-scenes of the machinations of the infamous 1977 interview where Frost manages to an elicit an apology (of sorts) from Nixon. Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (2012) covers the period from January to April 1865 as Lincoln attempts to pass the Thirteen Amendment to the US Constitution. The two films on Mandela are Invictus (2009) and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). Invictus chronicles Mandela's attempts to dismantle the legacy of apartheid through the sport of rugby. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is the long anticipated “official” version of Mandela's autobiography that traces his journey from childhood to his 27-year incarceration and negotiations for release.Less
This chapter analyzes films that focus on three contrasting politicians: Richard Nixon, Abraham Lincoln, and Nelson Mandela. Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon (2008) combines both the importance of Nixon pre- and post-Watergate in a highly entertaining peek behind-the-scenes of the machinations of the infamous 1977 interview where Frost manages to an elicit an apology (of sorts) from Nixon. Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (2012) covers the period from January to April 1865 as Lincoln attempts to pass the Thirteen Amendment to the US Constitution. The two films on Mandela are Invictus (2009) and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). Invictus chronicles Mandela's attempts to dismantle the legacy of apartheid through the sport of rugby. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is the long anticipated “official” version of Mandela's autobiography that traces his journey from childhood to his 27-year incarceration and negotiations for release.
Riaan Oppelt
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781474400404
- eISBN:
- 9781474412476
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474400404.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter offers an historical reading of injustices in South Africa. Drawing on South African fiction as well as the medium of film, it documents the injustice of the sociohistorical ...
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This chapter offers an historical reading of injustices in South Africa. Drawing on South African fiction as well as the medium of film, it documents the injustice of the sociohistorical constellation after the South African War on to the one during apartheid. The chapter analyses C. Louis Leipoldt's novel The Mask, a depiction of perceived injustice on the part of early twentieth-century Afrikaners in South Africa, along with the book A Human Being Died That Night by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela and the film Invictus for their contributions to the concept of African humanism. The chapter also discusses the legacy of Nelson Mandela's humanism, with its emphasis on the communal effort against mass injustice.Less
This chapter offers an historical reading of injustices in South Africa. Drawing on South African fiction as well as the medium of film, it documents the injustice of the sociohistorical constellation after the South African War on to the one during apartheid. The chapter analyses C. Louis Leipoldt's novel The Mask, a depiction of perceived injustice on the part of early twentieth-century Afrikaners in South Africa, along with the book A Human Being Died That Night by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela and the film Invictus for their contributions to the concept of African humanism. The chapter also discusses the legacy of Nelson Mandela's humanism, with its emphasis on the communal effort against mass injustice.
Kenneth S. Broun
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199740222
- eISBN:
- 9780190254391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199740222.003.0015
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter examines the aftermath of the Rivonia Trial. Mandela and his co-accused were eventually released from prison by the government. Denis Goldberg got his freedom after twenty-two years of ...
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This chapter examines the aftermath of the Rivonia Trial. Mandela and his co-accused were eventually released from prison by the government. Denis Goldberg got his freedom after twenty-two years of imprisonment, while Mandela was released after twenty-seven years. For much of their time in prison, all of the convicted men were confined to the forbidding facility on Robben Island, with the exception of Goldberg who was confined to a prison for whites in Pretoria. Those imprisoned on Robben Island continued to participate in the struggle, and many took the opportunity to study and gain university degrees through correspondence.Less
This chapter examines the aftermath of the Rivonia Trial. Mandela and his co-accused were eventually released from prison by the government. Denis Goldberg got his freedom after twenty-two years of imprisonment, while Mandela was released after twenty-seven years. For much of their time in prison, all of the convicted men were confined to the forbidding facility on Robben Island, with the exception of Goldberg who was confined to a prison for whites in Pretoria. Those imprisoned on Robben Island continued to participate in the struggle, and many took the opportunity to study and gain university degrees through correspondence.
Stephen Ellis
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199330614
- eISBN:
- 9780199388165
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199330614.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History
Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in February 1990 was one of the most memorable moments of recent decades. It came a few days after the removal of the ban on the African National Congress (ANC); ...
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Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in February 1990 was one of the most memorable moments of recent decades. It came a few days after the removal of the ban on the African National Congress (ANC); founded a century ago and outlawed in 1960, the ANC had transferred its headquarters abroad and opened what it termed an External Mission. For the thirty years following its banning, the ANC had fought relentlessly against the apartheid state. Finally voted into office in 1994, the ANC today regards its armed struggle as the central plank of its legitimacy. This book studies the ANC’s period in exile, based on a full range of sources in southern Africa and Europe. These include the ANC’s own archives and also those of the Stasi, the East German ministry that trained the ANC’s security personnel. The book reveals that the decision to create the Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation)—a guerrilla army which later became the ANC’s armed wing—was made not by the ANC but by its allies in the South African Communist Party after negotiations with Chinese leader Mao Zedong. It shows that many of the strategic decisions made, and many of the political issues which arose during the course of that protracted armed struggle, had a lasting effect on South Africa, shaping its society even up to the present day.Less
Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in February 1990 was one of the most memorable moments of recent decades. It came a few days after the removal of the ban on the African National Congress (ANC); founded a century ago and outlawed in 1960, the ANC had transferred its headquarters abroad and opened what it termed an External Mission. For the thirty years following its banning, the ANC had fought relentlessly against the apartheid state. Finally voted into office in 1994, the ANC today regards its armed struggle as the central plank of its legitimacy. This book studies the ANC’s period in exile, based on a full range of sources in southern Africa and Europe. These include the ANC’s own archives and also those of the Stasi, the East German ministry that trained the ANC’s security personnel. The book reveals that the decision to create the Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation)—a guerrilla army which later became the ANC’s armed wing—was made not by the ANC but by its allies in the South African Communist Party after negotiations with Chinese leader Mao Zedong. It shows that many of the strategic decisions made, and many of the political issues which arose during the course of that protracted armed struggle, had a lasting effect on South Africa, shaping its society even up to the present day.
Anne Pollock
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226629049
- eISBN:
- 9780226629216
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226629216.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter focuses on how apartheid and post-apartheid legacies have shaped capacity and aspirations for drug discovery in a democratic South Africa. It opens with reflections occasioned by the ...
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This chapter focuses on how apartheid and post-apartheid legacies have shaped capacity and aspirations for drug discovery in a democratic South Africa. It opens with reflections occasioned by the 2013 death of Nelson Mandela, who had been a passionate advocate for science in the service of the people. The chapter analyzes the landmark late-1990s intellectual property case widely known as “Big Pharma versus Nelson Mandela” (in which the South African state successfully won the right to import generic antiretrovirals), in order to illuminate the challenges that the newly democratic South Africa faced as it became more integrated into the neoliberal global order. Then, drawing on accounts of iThemba’s founders, the chapter explores iThemba’s pre-history in international exchange programs envisioned as ways to build a local multiracial scientific workforce for the new multiracial democracy. Links with London and Atlanta offered ways to envision roles for South African science in fostering both implicitly nonracial global excellence and specifically Black success. Apartheid legacies created both conditions of possibility for bringing South Africa into the global space of drug discovery, and profound challenges. In the new South Africa, science should serve the people, but neoliberal imperatives presented obstacles to ambitious visions for building science.Less
This chapter focuses on how apartheid and post-apartheid legacies have shaped capacity and aspirations for drug discovery in a democratic South Africa. It opens with reflections occasioned by the 2013 death of Nelson Mandela, who had been a passionate advocate for science in the service of the people. The chapter analyzes the landmark late-1990s intellectual property case widely known as “Big Pharma versus Nelson Mandela” (in which the South African state successfully won the right to import generic antiretrovirals), in order to illuminate the challenges that the newly democratic South Africa faced as it became more integrated into the neoliberal global order. Then, drawing on accounts of iThemba’s founders, the chapter explores iThemba’s pre-history in international exchange programs envisioned as ways to build a local multiracial scientific workforce for the new multiracial democracy. Links with London and Atlanta offered ways to envision roles for South African science in fostering both implicitly nonracial global excellence and specifically Black success. Apartheid legacies created both conditions of possibility for bringing South Africa into the global space of drug discovery, and profound challenges. In the new South Africa, science should serve the people, but neoliberal imperatives presented obstacles to ambitious visions for building science.
Mark S. Hamm
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814725443
- eISBN:
- 9780814724071
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814725443.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This introductory chapter argues that prisoner radicalization—far from being a recent phenomenon—is in fact an old issue rooted in the legacies of the likes of Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, ...
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This introductory chapter argues that prisoner radicalization—far from being a recent phenomenon—is in fact an old issue rooted in the legacies of the likes of Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Adolf Hitler—whose stories are elaborated upon in the chapter. Not only do these cases offer insights into the political motivations for radicalization but they also provide a framework for understanding how radicalization emerges from personal strategies used by prisoners to cope with various conditions of their confinement. The themes informing their narratives of radicalization—cunning, suffering, collective resistance, and nihilism—continue to echo within prisoner subcultures to this day, as do the strategies that turned these tropes into action: a spirit of self-help supported by kinship networks, clandestine communication systems, obscure religions, and, most important of all, charismatic leadership.Less
This introductory chapter argues that prisoner radicalization—far from being a recent phenomenon—is in fact an old issue rooted in the legacies of the likes of Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Adolf Hitler—whose stories are elaborated upon in the chapter. Not only do these cases offer insights into the political motivations for radicalization but they also provide a framework for understanding how radicalization emerges from personal strategies used by prisoners to cope with various conditions of their confinement. The themes informing their narratives of radicalization—cunning, suffering, collective resistance, and nihilism—continue to echo within prisoner subcultures to this day, as do the strategies that turned these tropes into action: a spirit of self-help supported by kinship networks, clandestine communication systems, obscure religions, and, most important of all, charismatic leadership.
Alison Brysk
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199982660
- eISBN:
- 9780199362523
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199982660.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics, Comparative Politics
This chapter analyzes the role of charismatic and expert voice in articulating the message of human rights campaigns. Both collective and individual voice are considered. The chapter profiles the ...
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This chapter analyzes the role of charismatic and expert voice in articulating the message of human rights campaigns. Both collective and individual voice are considered. The chapter profiles the heroic presence of Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Argentina's Mothers of the Disappeared. It discusses Doctors Without Borders, Amartya Sen, and Paul Farmer as witnesses and experts. These leaders are contrasted with insufficient use of voice in American campaigns against the death penalty.Less
This chapter analyzes the role of charismatic and expert voice in articulating the message of human rights campaigns. Both collective and individual voice are considered. The chapter profiles the heroic presence of Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Argentina's Mothers of the Disappeared. It discusses Doctors Without Borders, Amartya Sen, and Paul Farmer as witnesses and experts. These leaders are contrasted with insufficient use of voice in American campaigns against the death penalty.
Leonardo Baccini and Johannes Urpelainen
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199388998
- eISBN:
- 9780199389018
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199388998.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics, Political Economy
This chapter presents two detailed case studies (Croatia, South Africa) based on interviews, primary sources, and the secondary literature. In each case, democratization caused demand for ...
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This chapter presents two detailed case studies (Croatia, South Africa) based on interviews, primary sources, and the secondary literature. In each case, democratization caused demand for liberalization, while leader change complicated the implementation of reform. preferential trading agreement (PTA) negotiations allowed the leaders to credibly commit to liberalization and distribute side payments to influential domestic constituencies. In Croatia, a PTA with the EU was an important step toward liberalization across the board and access to the European markets. In South Africa, a similar treaty with the EU was an important component of President Nelson Mandela’s economic strategy to deal with the country’s economic crisis and the political demands of the post-apartheid setting.Less
This chapter presents two detailed case studies (Croatia, South Africa) based on interviews, primary sources, and the secondary literature. In each case, democratization caused demand for liberalization, while leader change complicated the implementation of reform. preferential trading agreement (PTA) negotiations allowed the leaders to credibly commit to liberalization and distribute side payments to influential domestic constituencies. In Croatia, a PTA with the EU was an important step toward liberalization across the board and access to the European markets. In South Africa, a similar treaty with the EU was an important component of President Nelson Mandela’s economic strategy to deal with the country’s economic crisis and the political demands of the post-apartheid setting.
Kenneth S. Broun
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199740222
- eISBN:
- 9780190254391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199740222.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter focuses on the defense team's decision to have Nelson Mandela make a statement to the court rather than testify during the Rivonia Trial. The most crucial decision the defense needed to ...
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This chapter focuses on the defense team's decision to have Nelson Mandela make a statement to the court rather than testify during the Rivonia Trial. The most crucial decision the defense needed to make is whether or not to have the accused give testimony as witnesses. If the accused elect not to testify, the prosecution cannot require them to take the witness stand. Mandela, his fellow defendants, and their lawyers faced a dilemma: If they testified truthfully, most would have to admit to enough charges to ensure their conviction. But if they do not testify, they would lose the opportunity to make their case against apartheid. George Bizos of the defense team persuaded the others that most of the accused should testify. In his statement, Mandela would admit to many of the acts charged in the indictment, deny others, and make his case.Less
This chapter focuses on the defense team's decision to have Nelson Mandela make a statement to the court rather than testify during the Rivonia Trial. The most crucial decision the defense needed to make is whether or not to have the accused give testimony as witnesses. If the accused elect not to testify, the prosecution cannot require them to take the witness stand. Mandela, his fellow defendants, and their lawyers faced a dilemma: If they testified truthfully, most would have to admit to enough charges to ensure their conviction. But if they do not testify, they would lose the opportunity to make their case against apartheid. George Bizos of the defense team persuaded the others that most of the accused should testify. In his statement, Mandela would admit to many of the acts charged in the indictment, deny others, and make his case.
Kenneth S. Broun
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199740222
- eISBN:
- 9780190254391
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199740222.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
When South Africa's apartheid government charged Nelson Mandela with planning its overthrow in 1963, most observers feared that he would be sentenced to death. But the support he and his fellow ...
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When South Africa's apartheid government charged Nelson Mandela with planning its overthrow in 1963, most observers feared that he would be sentenced to death. But the support he and his fellow activists in the African National Congress received during his trial not only saved his life, but also enabled him to save his country. This book recreates the trial—called the “Rivonia” Trial after the Johannesburg suburb where police seized Mandela. Based upon interviews with many of the case's primary figures and portions of the trial transcript, the book situates readers inside the courtroom at the imposing Palace of Justice in Pretoria. Here, the trial unfolds through a dramatic narrative that captures the courage of the accused and their defense team, as well as the personal prejudices that colored the entire trial. The Rivonia trial had no jury and only a superficial aura of due process, combined with heavy security that symbolized the apartheid government's system of repression. The book shows how outstanding advocacy, combined with widespread public support, in fact backfired on apartheid leaders, who sealed their own fate. Despite his twenty-seven-year incarceration, Mandela's ultimate release helped move his country from the racial tyranny of apartheid toward democracy.Less
When South Africa's apartheid government charged Nelson Mandela with planning its overthrow in 1963, most observers feared that he would be sentenced to death. But the support he and his fellow activists in the African National Congress received during his trial not only saved his life, but also enabled him to save his country. This book recreates the trial—called the “Rivonia” Trial after the Johannesburg suburb where police seized Mandela. Based upon interviews with many of the case's primary figures and portions of the trial transcript, the book situates readers inside the courtroom at the imposing Palace of Justice in Pretoria. Here, the trial unfolds through a dramatic narrative that captures the courage of the accused and their defense team, as well as the personal prejudices that colored the entire trial. The Rivonia trial had no jury and only a superficial aura of due process, combined with heavy security that symbolized the apartheid government's system of repression. The book shows how outstanding advocacy, combined with widespread public support, in fact backfired on apartheid leaders, who sealed their own fate. Despite his twenty-seven-year incarceration, Mandela's ultimate release helped move his country from the racial tyranny of apartheid toward democracy.
Randall Williams
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816665419
- eISBN:
- 9781452946290
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816665419.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Ethical Issues and Debates
This chapter provides an analysis of Amnesty International’s 1964 disqualification of South African Nelson Mandela as prisoner of conscience. Despite having initially adopted Mandela as a victim of ...
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This chapter provides an analysis of Amnesty International’s 1964 disqualification of South African Nelson Mandela as prisoner of conscience. Despite having initially adopted Mandela as a victim of human rights abuse, the emerging international NGO hastily voted to drop the antiapartheid activist following his trial statement. In his statement, Mandela defended the African National Congress’s use of organized political violence as a necessary and ethical response in the struggle against the racist South African state. Neither the apartheid state nor the international human rights organization accepted Mandela’s argument as he was sentenced to life imprisonment and removed from Amnesty’s worldwide list of prisoners of conscience. Mandela’s disqualification marks the point at which the postwar discourse of human rights becomes a default ally of state violence.Less
This chapter provides an analysis of Amnesty International’s 1964 disqualification of South African Nelson Mandela as prisoner of conscience. Despite having initially adopted Mandela as a victim of human rights abuse, the emerging international NGO hastily voted to drop the antiapartheid activist following his trial statement. In his statement, Mandela defended the African National Congress’s use of organized political violence as a necessary and ethical response in the struggle against the racist South African state. Neither the apartheid state nor the international human rights organization accepted Mandela’s argument as he was sentenced to life imprisonment and removed from Amnesty’s worldwide list of prisoners of conscience. Mandela’s disqualification marks the point at which the postwar discourse of human rights becomes a default ally of state violence.
Ron Krabill
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226451886
- eISBN:
- 9780226451909
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226451909.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, African Studies
During the worst years of apartheid, the most popular show on television in South Africa—among both Black and White South Africans—was The Cosby Show. Why did people living under a system built on ...
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During the worst years of apartheid, the most popular show on television in South Africa—among both Black and White South Africans—was The Cosby Show. Why did people living under a system built on the idea that Black people were inferior and threatening flock to a show that portrayed African Americans as comfortably mainstream? This book takes up this paradox, revealing the surprising impact of television on racial politics. The South African government maintained a ban on television until 1976, and according to this book, they were right to be wary of its potential power. The medium, it contends, created a shared space for communication in a deeply divided nation that seemed destined for civil war along racial lines. At a time when it was illegal to publish images of Nelson Mandela, Bill Cosby became the most recognizable Black man in the country, and, the book argues, his presence in the living rooms of white South Africans helped lay the groundwork for Mandela's release and ascension to power. Weaving together South Africa's political history and a social history of television, the book challenges conventional understandings of globalization, offering up insights into the relationship between politics and the media.Less
During the worst years of apartheid, the most popular show on television in South Africa—among both Black and White South Africans—was The Cosby Show. Why did people living under a system built on the idea that Black people were inferior and threatening flock to a show that portrayed African Americans as comfortably mainstream? This book takes up this paradox, revealing the surprising impact of television on racial politics. The South African government maintained a ban on television until 1976, and according to this book, they were right to be wary of its potential power. The medium, it contends, created a shared space for communication in a deeply divided nation that seemed destined for civil war along racial lines. At a time when it was illegal to publish images of Nelson Mandela, Bill Cosby became the most recognizable Black man in the country, and, the book argues, his presence in the living rooms of white South Africans helped lay the groundwork for Mandela's release and ascension to power. Weaving together South Africa's political history and a social history of television, the book challenges conventional understandings of globalization, offering up insights into the relationship between politics and the media.
Alison Brysk
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195381573
- eISBN:
- 9780199852338
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195381573.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
South Africa's historic transformation from dictatorship to democracy is paralleled by an equally remarkable transition in foreign policy: from realist supporter of regional instability and unholy ...
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South Africa's historic transformation from dictatorship to democracy is paralleled by an equally remarkable transition in foreign policy: from realist supporter of regional instability and unholy alliances to principled exporter of global human rights. It provides a role model for other emerging regional powers, demonstrating that underdevelopment, non-Western culture, and historic divisions are not necessarily impediments to an active and principled foreign policy role. Nelson Mandela came to power with an ambition to transform South Africa's foreign policy liabilities into strengths, as well as an extraordinary level of personal principle, charismatic leadership, and international legitimacy. In the era since Mandela, South Africa has been caught between the global values of its increasingly distracted civil society and the regional realities and historic loyalties embodied by its centralizing leadership. Like the consolidation of domestic democracy, for South Africa the construction of cosmopolitan internationalism remains a contested and fragile process.Less
South Africa's historic transformation from dictatorship to democracy is paralleled by an equally remarkable transition in foreign policy: from realist supporter of regional instability and unholy alliances to principled exporter of global human rights. It provides a role model for other emerging regional powers, demonstrating that underdevelopment, non-Western culture, and historic divisions are not necessarily impediments to an active and principled foreign policy role. Nelson Mandela came to power with an ambition to transform South Africa's foreign policy liabilities into strengths, as well as an extraordinary level of personal principle, charismatic leadership, and international legitimacy. In the era since Mandela, South Africa has been caught between the global values of its increasingly distracted civil society and the regional realities and historic loyalties embodied by its centralizing leadership. Like the consolidation of domestic democracy, for South Africa the construction of cosmopolitan internationalism remains a contested and fragile process.
Kenneth S. Broun
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199740222
- eISBN:
- 9780190254391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199740222.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter focuses on the arrests made by the South African security police in the suburb of Rivonia in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1963. Rivonia was a sparsely developed exurban community that ...
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This chapter focuses on the arrests made by the South African security police in the suburb of Rivonia in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1963. Rivonia was a sparsely developed exurban community that included Liliesleaf Farm, a twenty-eight-acre property owned and occupied by the affluent white family of Arthur Goldreich. Arthur, a longtime active member of the outlawed Communist Party of South Africa, had redesigned the main room of the thatched cottage as a meeting place for the party leadership and the African National Congress (ANC). The Communist Party and the ANC were working together on the possibility of military action against the government through its combined organization, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Nelson Mandela was not among the activists meeting at Liliesleaf Farm in 1963. He was already imprisoned in the penitentiary on Robben Island, charged with illegally leaving the country and with inciting laborers to strike. Among those arrested were Arthur Goldreich and Harold Wolpe, who would later escape.Less
This chapter focuses on the arrests made by the South African security police in the suburb of Rivonia in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1963. Rivonia was a sparsely developed exurban community that included Liliesleaf Farm, a twenty-eight-acre property owned and occupied by the affluent white family of Arthur Goldreich. Arthur, a longtime active member of the outlawed Communist Party of South Africa, had redesigned the main room of the thatched cottage as a meeting place for the party leadership and the African National Congress (ANC). The Communist Party and the ANC were working together on the possibility of military action against the government through its combined organization, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Nelson Mandela was not among the activists meeting at Liliesleaf Farm in 1963. He was already imprisoned in the penitentiary on Robben Island, charged with illegally leaving the country and with inciting laborers to strike. Among those arrested were Arthur Goldreich and Harold Wolpe, who would later escape.
Kenneth S. Broun
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199740222
- eISBN:
- 9780190254391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199740222.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
This chapter examines the case for the prosecution in the Rivonia Trial. On the first day of the trial, the defendants entered their pleas and Percy Yutar of the prosecution team delivered an opening ...
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This chapter examines the case for the prosecution in the Rivonia Trial. On the first day of the trial, the defendants entered their pleas and Percy Yutar of the prosecution team delivered an opening address. All of them revealed much about the strategy and goals of each side. Quartus de Wet, the presiding judge, was annoyed by the defendants' pleas of not guilty, while Yutar appeared horrified. In his opening, as throughout the trial, Yutar argued that all planning was done by leaders of the African National Congress in close cooperation with leaders of the Communist Party of South Africa, citing documents as evidence of sabotage.Less
This chapter examines the case for the prosecution in the Rivonia Trial. On the first day of the trial, the defendants entered their pleas and Percy Yutar of the prosecution team delivered an opening address. All of them revealed much about the strategy and goals of each side. Quartus de Wet, the presiding judge, was annoyed by the defendants' pleas of not guilty, while Yutar appeared horrified. In his opening, as throughout the trial, Yutar argued that all planning was done by leaders of the African National Congress in close cooperation with leaders of the Communist Party of South Africa, citing documents as evidence of sabotage.
