This International Affairs Bulletin contains three articles:
S. Akritides’ article analyses the prominence of idealism in US foreign policy concerning isolationism and messianism, with regard to the initiatives undertaken by the Nixon, Carter and Reagan Administrations.
A.W. Stadler’s article contributes to the ‘conditions of democracy’ debate. Influential elements have argued that the most important condition for a future democratic society is a sustained rate of economic growth, but the conditions for the establishment of democracy lies in political rather than socio-economic circumstances. The main factors affecting levels of unemployment are political, and the best predictor for a welfare state is not the rate of growth of an economy, but the government’s commitment to the welfare state.
Gary van Staden’s article describes the prospects for revival of the Pan Africanist Congress. It provides a brief outline of the movement’s early history and problems, the concept of Africanism and the ANC Youth League, and the decline of the organisation. It then discusses recent developments from 1979 to 1988, including insurgency, diplomatic developments, internal developments, and necessary conditions for further growth of the PAC, and then turns to the current situation, perceptions of ANC failure, repression and radicalisation, negotiation and white politics, and the possible growth of the PAC.
