Transcript Introduction to Case Study #3 on South Africa

Case study # 3: South Africa
c. 1860-2005
History of the Americas HL 12
2016-17
BSGE
Jennifer Dikes
Why is South Africa taught in History of the
Americas?
IB Topics studied through this unit:
Paper 1: Prescribed Subject 4: Rights and Protest
Paper 2 World History Topic 7 - Origins, Development and Impact of Industrialization
Paper 2 World History Topic 9 – Evolution and development of democratic states
Case study 2: early apartheid South Africa (1948-1964)
Topic 7 - Origins, Development and Impact of Industrialization
Nature and characteristics of discrimination
Case studies are: USA (1880-1920), Argentina (1880—1920), South Africa
(1860-1950)
• “Petty Apartheid” and “Grand Apartheid” legislation
• Division and “classification”; segregation of populations and
amenities; creation of townships/forced removals; segregation of
education; Bantustan system; impact on individuals
Protests and action
• Non-violent protests: bus boycotts; defiance campaign, Freedom
Charter
• Increasing violence: the Sharpeville massacre (1960) and the
decision to adopt the armed struggle
The origins of industrialization
• The causes and enablers of industrialization; the availability of human and natural
resources; political stability; infrastructure
• Role and significance of technological developments
• Role and significance of individuals
The impact and significance of key developments
• Developments in transportation
• Developments in energy and power
• Official response: the Rivonia trial (1963–1964) and the
imprisonment of the ANC leadership
• Industrial infrastructure; iron and steel
The role and significance of key actors/groups
• Developments in communications
• Key individuals: Nelson Mandela; Albert Luthuli
The social and political impact of industrialization
• Key groups: the African National Congress (ANC); the South African
Communist Party (SACP) and the MK (Umkhonto we Sizwe—“Spear
of the Nation”)
• Urbanization and the growth of cities and factories
• Mass production
• Labour conditions; organization of labour
• Political representation; opposition to industrialization
• Impact on standards of living; disease and life expectancy; leisure; literacy and media
IB Topics studied through this unit:
Paper 1: Prescribed Subject 4: Rights and Protest
Paper 2 World History Topic 7 Paper 2 World History Topic 9 – Evolution and development of democratic states
Topic 9: Evolution and Development of Democratic States
Case Studies are: Chile (1990-2005) and South Africa (1990-2005)
Emergence of democratic states
• Conditions that encouraged the demand for democratic reform: aftermath of war and/or political upheaval; political, social and economic factors;
external influences
• The role and significance of leaders
• Development of political parties, constitutions and electoral systems; the significance/impact of those developments
The development of democratic states
• Factors influencing the evolution of democratic states: immigration; ideology; economic forces; foreign influences
• Responses to, and impact of, domestic crises
• Struggle for equality: suffrage movements; civil protests
Impact of democracy on society
• Social and economic policies and reforms: education; social welfare; policies
towards women and minorities; the distribution of wealth
• The extent to which citizens benefit from those policies
• Cultural impact; freedom of expression in the arts and media
Essential Questions
Essential Questions that will be addressed in this unit
1. What is democracy? How has democracy evolved in the 20th and
21st centuries?
2. What is the role of protest in a society? What is the relationship
between protest and democracy?
3. Does economic and technological change represent progress?
4. Can a democratic society exist that does not serve the interests of
all?
5. Who owns history?
South Africa today
Capital:
No official capital. However:
Pretoria (executive)
Cape Town (legislative)
Bloemfontein (judicial)
Largest urban center: Soweto
Population: 56 million (2015 est.)
Land area: 24th largest country in the world
Official languages: 11 (most commonly spoken as first languages are Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans and English. Others are Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana and
Venda). Most common second language is English – has become the language of government and media after 1994
President: Jacob Zuma (since 2009)
Parliament has two houses:
Upper house – National Council of Provinces
Lower house – National Assembly
Creation of Union of South Africa as a member of the British Commonwealth: 1910
Creation of the Republic of South Africa: 1961
Organized into 9 provinces (as of 1994)
Religion: 71% Christian (mostly Protestant denominations)
Major population categories (2014):
Black (African) – 80%
White (descendants of European immigrants – Dutch & English before the 1860s; then German, Greek, Italian, etc.): 8.4%
Coloureds (mixed race descendants of Dutch and Africans): 8.8%
Asian (mostly descendants of laborers from what is now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh): 2.5%
Currency: Rand
British colonialism and the Commonwealth of
Nations (British Commonwealth)
• Intergovernmental organization that currently includes 52 countries
that were formerly British colonies and territories
• Some former British colonies still recognize the head of the
government of the United Kingdom (in 2017, that’s Queen Elizabeth
II) as the head of their own government. Among these countries are
Canada and Australia.
• Most former British colonies have their own independent head of the
government, and maintain ties with the UK and other former colonies
through membership in the Commonwealth of Nations.
Government of South Africa
The President is both head of state and head of government, and depends for his tenure on the
confidence of Parliament. The executive, legislature and judiciary are all subject to the supremacy of
the Constitution, and the superior courts have the power to strike down executive actions and acts
of Parliament if they are unconstitutional.
The National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, consists of 400 members and is elected
every five years by a system of party-list proportional representation. There are no electoral
districts, and each party is allocated a number of seats proportionate to the percentage of the votes
it receives across the country.
After each parliamentary election, the National Assembly elects one of its members as President;
hence the President serves a term of office the same as that of the Assembly, normally five years.
No President may serve more than two terms in office. The President appoints a Deputy President
and Ministers, who form the Cabinet which consists of Departments and Ministries. The President
and the Cabinet may be removed by the National Assembly by a motion of no confidence.
The National Council of Provinces, the upper house, consists of ninety members, with each of the
nine provincial legislatures electing ten members.
Election to the NCOP is indirect: citizens vote for provincial legislatures, and each legislature then
nominates a delegation of ten members to the NCOP. This means that each of South Africa's nine
provinces has equal representation in the Council regardless of population.
Suffrage rights
1910 to 1961
When the Union of South Africa was established in 1910, the Parliament was bicameral and consisted of the King or the Queen, the Senate, and the
House of Assembly (known in Afrikaans as the Volksraad).
The King (from 1952, the Queen of South Africa) was represented by the Governor-General.
Only white men could be senators or MP (Members of Parliament)
The right to vote was originally granted to white men in all four provinces, to black men in the Cape Province and Natal, and to Coloured men in the Cape
Province – in all cases, the minimum age was 21 years.
The composition of Parliament was changed by constitutional amendments from time to time:
From 1930, white women had the vote, and the right to serve as senators and MPs, on the same basis as white men.
From 1937, black voters were separated from the other races – in the Senate they were represented by four elected senators (two for the Cape, one for
Natal, one for the Orange Free State and Transvaal), and in the House of Assembly by three "native representative" MPs elected in separate black
constituencies.
From 1957, Coloured voters were separated from the whites – in the Senate they were represented by separate senators, and in the House of Assembly
by MPs elected in separate Coloured constituencies.
Representation of black voters was ended in 1960.
Voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1960.
1961 to 1984
Coloured representation was ended in 1968, leaving both the Senate and the House of Assembly representing white voters only.
The Senate was abolished in 1981, changing Parliament to a unicameral legislature.
Suffrage rights
1984 to 1994
A new Constitution, introduced in 1984, re-enfranchised the Coloured population (women as well as men), and enfranchised the
Indian population. It retained the existing House of Assembly for whites, and established a House of Representatives to represent the
Coloureds, and a House of Delegates for the Indians, making Parliament a tricameral legislature. Blacks continued to be excluded.
Each house consisted of members elected to represent constituencies, plus a few additional members elected by the MPs, and some
nominated by the State President. Each house legislated on "own affairs" exclusive to its own race group, and they legislated jointly on
"general affairs" affecting all races. In practice, the House of Assembly, which had more MPs than the other two houses combined,
continued to dominate the legislature
The black majority were still disfranchised, and the new system lacked legitimacy even among the Coloureds and Asians, many of
whom boycotted elections. In a referendum held in 1992, 68.73% of (only white) voters approved the reform process that effectively
ended Apartheid. In late 1993, one of the last pieces of legislation passed by the Tricameral Parliament was the Interim Constitution,
which took effect on 27 April 1994, the same day as the first non-racial elections.
Since 1994
A new interim constitution, introduced in 1994 after four years of negotiation, finally introduced all-race democracy and enfranchised
men and women of all races on equal terms, the minimum age remaining 18 years. This was confirmed in the Constitution of 1996,
which is still in force.
Constitution of South Africa
The South Africa Act 1909, an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, unified four British colonies – Cape
Colony, Transvaal Colony, Orange River Colony and Natal Colony – into the Union of South Africa, a selfgoverning Dominion.
The Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961 transformed the Union into a Republic, replacing the
Queen with a State President, but otherwise leaving the system of government unchanged.
The Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983 created the Tricameral Parliament, with separate houses
representing white, coloured and Indian people but without representation for black people. The figurehead
State President and executive Prime Minister were replaced by an executive State President.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993 or Interim Constitution was introduced at the end of
apartheid to govern the period of transition. It introduced universal adult suffrage, constitutional supremacy
and a bill of rights.
Current Constitution of South Africa was written between 1994 and 1996, and was formally adopted in 1997.
Constitution of South Africa 1996 (Preamble)
We, the people of South Africa,
Recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.
We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to
Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.
http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996-preamble