The Commonwealth, South Africa and Apartheid: Race, Conflict and Reconciliation

This book explores the role of the modern Commonwealth in the international campaign against apartheid in South Africa. Spanning the period of South Africas apartheid state, from its foundation in 1948 until its ending in April 1994, the author demonstrates that, after the 1960 Sharpeville massacre and South Africas subsequent exclusion from the Commonwealth, the organisation was able to become both pathfinder and interlocutor on the road to South Africas freedom. As well as South Africas ejection from the Commonwealth, apartheids increasing isolation was sustained by the Commonwealths pioneering work in boycotting apartheid sport, as well as campaigning to stop arms sales. It also played an important role in internationalising economic and financial sanctions, credited by some as the final nail in apartheids coffin, and was able to make an important and distinctive contribution to the transition to democracy. At the same time, critical debates within the Commonwealth about racial and political equality transformed the association from a docile, post-imperial organisation, led by the UK and in its own interests, to a modern, multiracial North-South forum for reconciling global difference and overcoming the legacies of colonialism. This comprehensive and authoritative account of the Commonwealths engagement with apartheid South Africa is intended for all those who study and research the modern Commonwealth, its structure and influence, and for those with a general interest in contemporary post-war history.