The Dynamics of Reform and Repression in the South African Conflict and the Emerging Role of the South African Defense Forces

Abstract

In this chapter the author argues that Defense Minister P. W. Botha's coming to power was much more than a change of the head of the government. Botha's arrival marked the beginning of a wide-ranging reorganization and restructuring of White politics and the apartheid state and has led to the emergence of an increasingly authoritarian military-bureaucratic regime. The change from Vorster to Botha was generally welcomed by South Africa's allies in the West. Botha tried to obtain support from the urban Africans — the 2-4 million with residential rights in the townships around the "White" cities in South Africa. The escalating opposition in the townships to the government since 1984 leading to direct involvement of the military troops, the symptoms of the deepening economic crisis, and spreading international hostility, are indications of the failure of the Botha regime's strategy of reform and attempts to regain control.