International Opposition to Apartheid

Paper Summary:

This paper examines early international opposition to apartheid and its discussion by the U.N. including it's failure as a result of disagreements.
It looks at the attempts to impose sanctions against South Africa and the reluctance of Western states to antagonise South Africa due to trade and fears over communism. It discusses the relatively effective action of businesses and individuals through disinvestment as well as the attitudes of American Presidents and their effects on international opposition. The paper also touches on attempts by African states to oppose apartheid in South Africa and the use of sport (such as exclusion from sporting events) to isolate South Africa from the rest of the international community.

From the Paper:

"The United Nations was one of the first international bodies to take action against the South African government; Reddy claims that as early as 1946, the question of South Africa's racial policy was being raised in the UN. It is claimed changes in the rest of the world resulted in increased pressure on the South African regime from the UN. As a growing number of former colonies gained independence, they used the UN to highlight the issue of South Africa's racial policy. For example, in 1952, 14 African and Arabic states placed South Africa on the agenda of the UN General Assembly, claiming that the policy 'had created a dangerous and explosive situation that held a danger to international peace and represented a blatant breach of the basic principals of human rights and freedoms' . "

Sample of Sources Used:

• J. Barber 'South Africa in the Twentieth Century' (Blackwell, 1999)
• J. Barber, J. Blumenfeld and C. Hill, 'The West and South Africa' (London and Boston, 1982)
• W. Beinart 'Twentieth-Century South Africa' (Oxford, Second Edition, 2001)
• G. Braun and H. Weiland, 'Sanctions against South Africa: punative action or placebo politics' (1989)
• Dubow and Beinart, 'The Rise and Demise of Apartheid'

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