Epilogue

Abstract

The pace of political and social upheaval in South Africa accelerated dramatically during the 1980s. The emergence and recognition of the ANC as a major and legitimate force in South Africa’s future; the explosion of black protest that swept the black townships in mid-decade; South African involvement in virtually perpetual conflict across its borders; the sharpening cleavages within South Africa’s white and black communities: these were among the more glaring evidence of a fracturing society and a regime under intense pressure.