Research Catalog

Breakthrough : the struggles and secret talks that brought apartheid South Africa to the negotiating table

Title
Breakthrough : the struggles and secret talks that brought apartheid South Africa to the negotiating table / Mac Maharaj and Z. Pallo Jordan.
Author
Maharaj, Mac
Publication
Cape Town, South Africa : Penguin Books, 2021.

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextRequest in advance DT1967 .M34 2021Off-site

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Additional Authors
Jordan, Z. Pallo
Description
xxiv, 224 pages : illustrations (some color); 24 cm
Summary
When President F.W. de Klerk announced the unbanning of the liberation movements on 2 February 1990, he opened the door to negotiations that would end apartheid and pave the way to democracy. But how did this moment come about? What power struggles and secret talks had brought the country to this point? Written by two ANC veterans who were close to these events, Breakthrough sheds new light on the process that led to the formal negotiations. The book focuses in particular on the years 1984-1990 and on the skirmishes that took place in the shadows, away from the public glare, as the principal adversaries engaged in a battle of positions that carved a pathway to the negotiating table. Drawing from material in the prison files of Nelson Mandela, minutes of the meetings of the ANC Constitutional Committee, the NWC and the NEC, notes about the Mells Park talks led by Professor Willie Esterhuyse and Thabo Mbeki, communications between Oliver Tambo and Operation Vula, the Kobie Coetsee Papers, the Broederbond archives and numerous other sources, the authors piece together a compelling narrative of events. Breakthrough demonstrates that the events that preceded the formal talks of 1990-1994 are crucial for a full understanding of South Africa\u0027s transition from apartheid to democracy.--
Subject
  • African National Congress > History
  • National Party (South Africa) > History
  • 1989-1994
  • South Africa > Politics and government > 1978-1989
  • South Africa > Politics and government > 1989-1994
  • Apartheid
  • Democracy
  • Politics and government
  • South Africa
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-212) and index.
Contents
Breakthrough - The imprisoned society - The landscape is reconfigured - Apartheid bows, but does not bend - The gathering storm - State terrorism - The white laager wavers - Botha trips himself - Shaping setbacks into opportunities - Seizing the initiative - Botha in a bind - New terrain, new challenges - Annexures. A. Memo from Nelson Mandela to P.W. Botha - B. Constitutional guidelines for a democratic South Africa - C. Harare declaration.
ISBN
  • 9781776096473
  • 1776096479
  • 9781776096480 (canceled/invalid)
LCCN
2021419264
OCLC
  • on1264272778
  • 1264272778
Owning Institutions
Columbia University Libraries