South Africa Country Report

Introduction

The Republic of South Africa, more commonly known as South Africa, has experienced a history unlike any other African nation. Its strategic location on the southern most tip of Africa between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans helped it experience early European settlement. South Africa features the largest white, Indian and racially mixed communities in all of Africa, with Black South Africans accounting for 80% of the population. These vastly different cultures account for the tumultuous political and historical events which have significantly affected the outcome of the current South African nation. In the next section I will explain the climate and topography of this varied nation followed by the key historical events that will paint a picture of South Africa’s past which will lead into the understanding of the countries current political reality. That will be followed by the explanation of the existing institutional features. Next will be the a description of the political culture which will illustrate the key political and economic debates in South Africa as well as an explanation of some of the current areas of tension. In the final section I will conclude the report with the current strengths and weaknesses in South Africa along with threats it faces and potential outcomes for the future.

Climate and Topography

South Africa has a mainly mild, temperate climate with annual rainfall ranges between 40” to as little as 5”. The rainy season is between October and April, spring and summer months, making it hot and humid in most places. From April to August the temperatures are very mild and snow can sometimes be seen in the upper regions in these fall and winter months.

South Africa has five neighbors to the north, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, and it encloses the small country of Lesotho. These nations not only share boarders, but share membership in the Southern African Development Community which furthers socio-economic partnership between contributing nations. All of these nations are tied closely with South Africa’s economy and politics, the land locked nations use South Africa’s ports, and most of the countries were also British colonies or protectorates. South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe are republics, Botswana is a parliamentary republic, Mozambique is a multi-party republic, Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy and Swaziland is an absolute monarchy. Diplomatic relations between all of these counties must remain strong in order to confront the social, economic and political challenges they all face.

Historical Background

Even though South Africa contains some of the oldest archeological sites in the entire world, the written history of this country begins with European navigators traveling by through sea passages of East Indies trade route. The cape of Africa was first circumvented by Bartholomew Diaz in 1488, and up to 1652, only small fishing villages of Portuguese sailors existed. The year 1652 marked the establishment of victualing stations for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) on the Cape of Good Hope. The cape boasted of temperate climate and an abundance of fresh water and food which allowed for the first major settlement of Europeans. With the induction of white Europeans to this landscape, cheap labor was needed to set up the basic foundational institutions. Slaves were introduced from Dutch colonies such as India; others came from Madagascar and Indonesia. The Dutch had a hold on the land during the main part of the 18th century, driving the native peoples to leave or to work for the white man. In 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte was the greatest threat to the European powers, so when the French overthrew the Dutch Republic, the British were worried the Cape of Good Hope would be in jeopardy, leaving British interest in Asia and India in trouble. Britain decided to seize power of the cape, but it returned to the hands of the VOC in 1803 until 1806 due to the bankruptcy of the Dutch East India Company. The 1814 Congress of Vienna confirmed British control over Cape Colony. Soon after this, Britain implemented a plan to tempt British citizens to move to these new colonial lands, these citizens were unaware that they were to become civilian-soldiers or farmers while times with the natives were still tumultuous.

The White Man’s War

At the onset of the influx of British immigrants, the Afrikaners, an ethnic group claiming ties to northwestern European descent that had first settled in South Africa with the VOC, began to get agitated. The British began to make changes to the infrastructure that disadvantaged this group, and tensions flared. The Afrikaners claimed that the Cape Colony was becoming too Anglican, with English declared as the official language