Conflict after apartheid?

History abounds with cases indicating the difficult period societies have gone through after gaining independence from external, and/or internal group domination. During the transition to independence, and after independence the future for most countries remains unstable and uncertain. Some countries eventually attain stability, then move into gradual economic growth, and finally shift to desired democracies. However, this stage is reached after a protracted period of political and economic strife, and also after several setbacks. This study seeks to determine if the differences created and accentuated by forty years of apartheid rule will continue, and be problematic in post-apartheid South Africa. Data for the study were collected from historically disadvantaged South Africans (DSA) using survey questionnaires. The following are some of the findings. Responses on political ideologies were diverse and widely varied, thus indicating an area of potential conflict. An overwhelming majority of the respondents, however, supported the notion of a person, one vote, in a unitary state. Also the majority of the respondents preferred a mixed economy. The majority of the respondents disagreed that blacks will seek to avenge themselves for past unfair practises, however they agreed that if conditions do not improve at a satisfactory pace, whites would be targets of hostility. Another finding of the study was the existence and presence of social and political distance between the various black race groups. Also, whilst there was general agreement on the role of the scarcity of jobs in stimulating conflict, there were significant differences of opinion on the role of ethnic affiliations. Implications of these findings for a future South Africa are discussed later in the dissertation