Conflict regulation in South Africa: options open to the Afrikaner power establishment

Abstract

"Change” has become a very important word in the South African political vocabulary. Being a deeply divided and pluralistic nation, South Africans fundamentally disagree among themselves concerning the nature and directions of change that ought to prevail in their country. The most important change‐agent, of course is the Afrikaner power establishment. Therefore, any realistic assessment of change in South Africa depends heavily on Afrikaner thinking and actions. In this article, the broad parameters under which the Afrikaner operate are analysed, the options for future change are discussed, and finally, an assessment is made of the progress and problems that are experienced by the South African Government in its quest to terminate white domination and to steer South Africa towards a stable non‐racial society.