Township violence and the end of apartheid : war on the reef / Gary Kynoch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kynoch, Gary, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Inkatha Freedom Party.

African National Congress.

Apartheid.

Political violence--South Africa.

Political violence.

Politics and government.

Apartheid--South Africa--History.

History.

South Africa.

African National Congress--History.

Inkatha Freedom Party--History.

South Africa--Politics and government--1989-1994.

South Africa--Politics and government--1994-.

Physical Description:

xii, 226 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Woodbridge, Suffolk : James Currey, an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd ; Johannesburg : Wits University Press, 2018.

Summary:

In 1993 South Africa state president F.W. de Klerk and African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime". Yet, while both deserved the plaudits they received for entering the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid, the four years of negotiations preceding the April 1994 elections, known as the transition era, were not "peaceful": they were the bloodiest of the entire apartheid era, with an estimated 14,000 deaths attributed to politically related violence. This book studies, for the first time, the conflicts between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) that took place in South Africa's industrial heartland surrounding Johannesburg. Exploring these events through the perceptions and memories of combatants and non-combatants from war-torn areas, along with security force members, politicians and violence monitors, offers new possibilities for understanding South Africa's turbulent transition. Challenging the prevailing narrative which attributes the bulk of the violence to a joint state security force and IFP assault against ANC supporters, the author argues for a more expansive approach that incorporates the aggression of ANC militants, the intersection between criminal and political violence, and especially clashes between groups aligned with the ANC.

Contents:

Introduction. Part 1. War on the reef. 1. Beginnings - 2. Rule of the gun: the ANC and the IFP at war - 3. Rule of the gun: violence on multiple fronts - 4. State security forces and township conflict. Part 2. Katlehong and Thokoza. 5. A tale of two townships - 6. Combatant stories - 7. Living in a war zone. Conclusion.

Notes:

"Published in paperback in Southern Africa in 2018 (South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe & Swaziland) by Wits University Press"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-218) and index.

ISBN:

1847012124

9781847012128

9781776143221

1776143221

OCLC:

1028805591

Publisher Number:

99979275415