How Long Will South Africa Survive?

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William Mervin Gumede

In this book Gumede explains how Mbeki has sought to mould the ANC into his image through tight control, and exposes the intrigues behind the battle for succession. Covering Mbeki's attempts to modernise the economy and kick-start an African Renaissance, and investigating his controversial stance on issues from AIDS to Zimbabwe, the book offers invaluable insights into the arcane machinations behind political decisions that touch the lives of millions every day.

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Marina Ottaway

The unbanning of the African National Congress and the release of Nelson Mandela in February 1990 cleared the way for negotiations toward a new, post-apartheid political order in South Africa. But three years later, the main parties have made little progress toward a compromise, while violence escalates in the townships. In this revealing study, Marina Ottaway examines the new conflicts emerging in South Africa, the factors influencing them, and the probable outcome. She shows that the black-on-white conflict that has made the country a pariah in the past has evolved into a much more complex state of affairs and explains that the transition is likely to take an unprecedented form. Beginning with a brief history of the events since Mandela's release, Ottaway provides a vivid account of the evolving conflict over apartheid. She discusses the complexity of conflict resolution in a country where internal and external currents work against each other, and where the struggle for power transcends any strides toward peace. Ottaway thoroughly addresses the issues involved in South Africa's transition from apartheid. She explains that the abolition of the pervasive system has more far-reaching implications than originally thought. South Africa explores the effects that the international climate of the 1990s has had on the country's transition. Ottaway contends that the international community rejects apartheid but is unsympathetic to black demands for redistribution, and has condemned the white government's vision of separate development but accepts ethnic nationalism as inevitable. She describes the dramatic effects the new world order has had on South Africa and assesses what those changes will mean to the country's difficult transition.

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H.C. Coombs

After more than two hundred years of white colonisation, one of the most important moral issues facing Australian society remains the need for reconciliation with indigenous Australians. In these essays H.C. Coombs reflects on the nature of Aboriginal identity and the ongoing importance of autonomy for contemporary Aboriginal society. He also suggests strategies by which self-determination meaningful to Aboriginal people might be achieved in practice. Some of the chapters have been written especially for this volume, including one in which Dr Coombs makes a thoughtful and provocative contribution to the Mabo debate, linking the High Court's historic decision to prospects for Aboriginal autonomy. Dr Coombs writes with the conviction that 'mainstream' Australia stands to gain as much as Aboriginal people, if not more, from the fulfillment of Aboriginal aspirations. It is a personal and passionate plea for a just society, from one of Australia's most influential and eloquent advocates of the rights of indigenous people.

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Victoria Prego

Presidentes, ganadora del III Premio Así Fue 2000, La Historia Rescatada, es un compendio de lo vivido por cuatro de los más importantes protagonistas de los últimos veinticinco años de la historia española, los jefes del Ejecutivo, Adolfo Suárez, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Felipe González y José María Aznar. Con una pluma ágil y una gran capacidad de síntesis, Victoria Prego plasma con maestría la historia de la joven democracia española en boca de sus cuatro presidentes de Gobierno, cada uno de los cuales afrontó el ejercicio del poder con la profunda voluntad de restablecer y mantener la concordia, la democracia y las libertades fundamentales entre sus compatriotas. Se trata de una narración fluida donde la voz de los protagonistas se intercala con la brillante explicación que la autora da a los hechos y que resume con gran acierto los principales problemas y las más significativas dificultades con que los cuatro dirigentes se enfrentaron a lo largo de su mandato: los dramáticos enfrentamientos de Adolfo Suárez con determinados miembros de la cúpula militar, el acoso al que le sometieron los varones de su propio partido, el proceso de legalización del Partido Comunista o el rechazo que su presidencia despertó entre ciertos estadistas extranjeros; la presión a la que fue sometido Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo para impedir la aprobación de la ley del Divorcio, la reactivación de la política exterior para la incorporación de España a la OTAN y a la Comunidad Europea; los iniciales enfrentamientos de Felipe González con diversos elementos militares, la importante decisión de ocultar más de un complot golpista para no alarmar a la ciudadanía, y los hitos que marcaron la política de su gobierno; y, finalmente, la llegada al poder de un gran partido nacional de centro-derecha, cuyo presidente, José Mª Aznar, plantea su gestión política en clave de pacto con los nacionalismos periféricos, tradicionalmente asociados a la izquierda, así como su expreso deseo de pactar con los sindicatos, la guerra digital desatada entre los medios de comunicación y uno de los mayores retos a los que debe enfrentarse el país: la lacra del terrorismo, que sigue golpeando las vidas y la conciencia de los españoles.