Development ideology and the political transition in South Africa — changing perspectives

Although the government of South Africa paid lip service to political change from 1977, no meaningful change in the de jure constitutional position of the disfranchised Black majority was realised until 1990. Subsequent to the release of the leaders of the banned political parties from prison in February 1990, the process of change gained momentum. Negotiations between political opponents have since been concluded and the White minority government has been replaced by a democratically elected government. During the constitutional negotiations spontaneous political blocs formed, each with its own ideological approach, and each approach holding different economic development implications for the future. In this paper the political history of the country is reflected against the political manoeuvring between the blocs during the transitional phase. Based on the present ideological position of the political groups relative to one another, the possible development consequences of different political scenarios are investigated for a post‐apartheid South Africa.

Notes

The author (H.S. Geyer) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the University of Potchefstroom, South Africa. Before joining the University he held planning positions in the government of Namibia and was later appointed as head of the Planning Division of the Soweto metropolitan area. He also heads a private planning consultancy firm and is nationally and internationally involved in research in the fields of economic development, policy analysis, and planning.