South Africa: From Apartheid to Post-Segregational Transition

In the 20th century a number of countries went through dramatic social and political changes, passing from totalitarianism to consolidated democracy, but South Africa is in a league of its own. The southernmost African state has acquired a sui generis position due to the fact that its regime sistematically exercised rigorous racial segregation and discrimination against the natives. The peak of that policy was the introduction of apartheid in 1950 which was characterised by sustained repression and simultaneous international isolation. Apartheid came to an end in 1990 with the beginning of democratic and post-segregational transition. After three cycles of multirace competitive elections, South Africa is today a state whose successfully launched transition is marked by a relatively high degree of internal stability and an active role in the international community, but also by completely new challenges, such as AIDS and an increase in crime, regional rivalries and the threat of emergence of an “inverse” racism