This International Affairs Bulletin contains three articles by various authors.
Andre du Pisani’s article isolates, identifies and describes the features of South Africa’s policies towards Namibia, which are regional in scope and intention and cannot be separated from its domestic crisis. The strengths and weaknesses of the TGNU are discussed and it is concluded that the prospects for an internationally recognised settlement of the Namibian conflict are not very encouraging.
J E Spence’s article addresses the question of South Africa’s unpopularity in the world, describing the history of the states system and analyzing how the international society of states has changed, how South Africa reacted to that, and why it has failed to come to terms with those changes and thus became an international pariah.
Guy Beresford’s article examines the sports boycott of South Africa, changes in the organisation of South African cricket, and changes in government policy. Conflicting views exist in South Africa and internationally as to the relevance of the boycott, given the reforms that have taken place, particularly in cricket. This article addresses these viewpoints and considers the issues of reform and political power sharing by looking at the sports boycott. It explains why cricket was chosen as an index of social and political change, and looks at the history of international pressure and reform in cricket until 1977, and how the impetus to continue the sports boycott has shifted from external to internal since 1977.
