The South African Problem: A Conflict of Nationalism

Abstract

last ten years in Africa have presented a curious contrast in patterns of development. Over the greater part of the continent the colonial structure has been more or less rapidly dismantled in the face of mounting African demands for independence and self rule, while in the southern extremity there remain the two Portuguese territories, where the old form of colonial rule continues unchanged, and the Republic of South Africa, in which white nationalism appears to be in full control, able and willing to use every means to hold down black nationalism within its borders and defiant of any criticism of its objectives and methods by the rest of the world. Developments in the Central African Federation suggest that concessions to the African majority cannot be indefinitely delayed in Southern Rhodesia; Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland already have African governments. A confrontation of white nationalism in South Africa under its present rulers and black nationalism in the rest of the African continent may, therefore, be imminent and could prove to be a serious international problem. Racial discrimination in most spheres of life had, of course, existed in South Africa from the earliest days, and many of the laws introduced by the Nationalist government after 1948 could legitimately be termed enactments of custom and extensions of laws introduced by earlier governments. The status quo in which non-whites enjoyed virtually no political representation did not conflict with the economic interests of either the English-speaking South Africans or the overseas investor, and it suited the religious sentiments and agricultural interests of the Afrikaners. The fact that this denial of political rights persisted until any grounds for its justification became as