Description

This work looks at South Africa in contemporary times since the end of apartheid. It is also a short history of South Africa since the arrival of the first Dutch settlers at the Cape more than 300 years ago. The author also look at some of the main events in the struggle against apartheid which were important milestones in the transformation of South Africa from a white-dominated country to a multiracial democratic society. Other subjects covered include structural reforms and institutional accountability in the post-apartheid era and the problems of immigration, with South Africa being the main destination for immigrants from other African countries. The influx of immigrants from other parts of Africa into South Africa is a contentious subject within South Africa and has caused tensions between many South Africans and these immigrants. The author has addressed the subject from both perspectives, shedding some light on the strains and constraints Africans are bound to face when they deal with each other even in the context of Pan-African solidarity. The work is also an excellent introduction for students and others including those who are going to South Africa for the first time. It can also be used as a supplementary text in college in the study of post-apartheid South Africa under the new dispensation and how the country is coping with some of the main challenges it faces in the 21st century, not only as a nation but also as the continent's most developed and most powerful country destined to inflluence the course of events across Africa for many years to come.