After a long difficult struggle South Africans welcomed freedom and democracy on April 27, 1994 ("20 years of freedom”). Democracy research groups Freedom House and Polity both label South Africa as democratic ("Freedom in the World” and Cole and Marshall). South Africa has a population of 51.7 million; of these 79.2% are black, 8.9% are white, 8.9% are coloured, and 2.5% are Indian/Asian ("South Africa: fast"). Before the democratic change, the minority white group oppressed the majority black group; making whites’ have an economic advantage ("The Consent”). The constitution recognizes eleven languages at equal value; the languages vary from English to isiZulu ("South Africa: fast"). Freedom of religion is also protected by the constitution because of the variety of religions that are practiced ("African Traditional”). Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and traditional African religions are all widely practiced religions ("African Traditional”). The constitution also equally represents everyone no matter their sex, race, or sexual preference ("Freedom in the World”). However, the peaceful constitution originated only after years of protest in the fight for equality.
The ruling government of South Africa changed from French-backed Dutch control to the British in 1795 ("The Consent”). Once the British controlled the Cape Colony, slavery was introduced and the white Dutch population was considered superior ("The Consent”). After several wars between the white Dutch population and Britain, the British gained complete control of the government in South Africa ("The Consent”). The British government still considered blacks second class citizens without the right to vote ("The Consent”). In the 1948 elections The National...
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...l). Through laws the government has made progress increasing the size of the middle class population; however, there is still a need for improvement.
When a country has an extremely low per capita income, tiny middle class, and lack of skill the transition to democracy is rare according to Snyder (72). The transition occurred in South Africa because the people were desperate for change. The economic struggle is still apparent in South Africa with a lack of education, thousands of unfilled jobs, and small middle class (The Economist). According to the South Africa’s Gini coefficient, a scale measuring inequality, South Africa is rated one of the most economically unequal countries in the world (The Economist). With economic and educational disparities, South Africa is a frail democracy that is being closely watched and assisted by pro-democracy organizations.
Failure to resist the consuetude of tyranny was seen in the apartheid regime that was allowed to rise in South Africa, “with its explicit policy promoting white supremacy” (Cooper 2002, 1). As a result of this establishment, non white Africans were forced to live separate and in poor conditions for years by the all white government. This yet again encumbered any chance for augmentation of self and society for the African people. While the rest of the world was creating mass transit and health care systems, Africa was being held down, it’s potential to develop as a state of power and influence,
The oppression of the indigenous people of South Africa began with the colonization by the Dutch through the Dutch East India Company. The Cape of South Africa proved to be a perfect resting spot for ships on their way from Holland or India. (Lapping, p. 1-2) Conflict was inevitable and finally after 7 years of settlement the indigenous Khoikhoi attacked the colony. The Khoikhioi could not match the firearms of the Dutch. (Lapping, p. 3) Van Riebeek, who proceeded over the colony had now gained superiority over the indigenous people, imported slaves, and settled the freeburghers.
With an understanding of the theoretical links between economic structures, relations of production, and political systems that protect economic structures in society this case study examines media as a contributor to democracy in Australia as well as a business with economic objectives. This section will provide a short explanation of Fairfax media history and position in 2012 prior to explaining Gina Rinehart’s role in the company. The print sector in Australia has historically exhibited relatively high levels of concentration, dominated by News Corp Australia, Fairfax and APN. The Australian print news media have experienced a long-term trend of a decrease in titles and owners. According to Geoffrey Craig, ‘in 1923 there were as many as
Brady, David. Rich Democracies, Poor People: How Politics Explain Poverty. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 26. Print.
The integration of the English, Dutch, and Africans began with the Colonization of South Africa in the seventeenth century. South Africa housed an abundant supply of natural resources such as fertile farmland and luxury metals and minerals. South Africa is the leading producer of gold, platinum, and diamonds. It's mild climate, resembling that of San Francisco, made it an ideal location for colonization. The Dutch East India Company occupied South Africa until 1797, when the British took over. The British had power over the colonies of Natal and the Cape at the beginning at the nineteenth century. When diamond deposits were found in the Dutch colonies of Orange Free State and Transvaal, the British invaded, sparking the Boer War. The Dutch decedents, known also as Afrikaners or Boers, sought to fight for their colonies as well as take over the British colonies of Natal and the Cape. The Boers lost the war and their two colonies to the British in defeat. The four colonies of Natal, Orange Free State, Transvaal and the Cape were brought together under British rule by means of the Act of Union of 1910. After some time, the British grew weary of their involvement in Africa and gave power to all of the whites i...
One basis of political democracy during this time period was the debate about property requirements to be able to vote. After the Revolution, no new state required property ownership to be able to vote. Also, constitutional conventions during the 1820s and 1830s got rid of property requirements within older states, mostly because the expanding amount of wage earners who did not have much property insisted on the right to vote. However, by 1860, in the South, where large slave owners controlled politics and did not trust mass democracy, property requisites were extinguished gradually and went away later than the rest of the nation. The personal independence necessary to the citizen was now found in owning one’s self, instead of owning property.
Racial segregation and white domination had become main aspects of South African policy way before apartheid began. Although apartheid in South Africa technically formed in 1948, Africa’s history of racial oppression began as early as the mid-17th century. Unofficial apartheid began the moment when the Dutch East India Company set up a station on the Cape. South Africa is a country blessed with a plentiful abundance of natural resources. These natural resources being fertile farmlands and rare mineral resources. The climate resembles the San Francisco Bay Area more than any other location in the world. This is one of various reasons why the Dutch wanted to colonize it. South Africa was colonized by the English and Dutch in the 17th century. Dutch colonists, also known as Boers or Afrikaners, were controlled by the English resulting in the Dutch forming the new colonies of Orange Free State and Tran...
Along with the power of owning vast amounts of land, white explorers brought an air of supremacy with them. They encountered indigenous people and felt superior over them. Segregation and unequal treatment of the black population was widespread throughout the continent. In South Africa, racism took the form of apartheid and lasted until 1994. Upon colonizing the African landscape, settlers from France, Britain and Portugal imposed ‘white rule’ over the natives. Africans could never meet the standards that the white men established. Sometimes, they were tolerated if they adopted ‘white’ ways, such as marrying a white woman, but they were never fully accepted. In some of the cultures, the British did not approve of interracial marriage nor did they fully accept the Africans. In 1760, laws were passed that required traveling African slaves to carry a ‘passbook’ everywhere they went.
There were significant political conflicts between the two sides. The Boers treated all blacks very badly and did not give basic human rights even to the blacks working for them. They made them pay taxes but could not vote. It was said to be through religious reasons that the Boers treated blacks so badly. This awful treatment infuriated the British, who had abolished slavery in all its colonies as well as at home in 1834. The Dutch wanted to keep its slaves. Europeans working in the Boer territories were also mistreated. These "Uitlanders" as they were known were key to the Boers' economic success, yet were still denied the vote.
South Africa really began to suffer when apartheid was written into the law. Apartheid was first introduced in the 1948 election that the Afrikaner National Party won. The plan was to take the already existing segregation and expand it (Wright, 60). Apartheid was a system that segregated South Africa’s population racially and considered non-whites inferior (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”). Apartheid was designed to make it legal for Europeans to dominate economics and politics (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”).
South Africa’s racial problems began when the white people came and discovered South Africa with its black population. The white people wanted power because there were many fewer whites than blacks. The only way to achieve that was to change the government around so that only white people had political power. The three terms that were used to describe racial groups under the system of apartheid were European, Native and Coloured.
It can be easily stated that the apartheid movement bestowed cruel and unusual punishments upon the people of South Africa, in order to execute its purpose. However, apartheid could have not been carried out if they were not individuals who believed in its principles. In order to understand the National parties ideologies regarding the issue of apartheid, it is essential to acknowledge the history of Boer soc...
Poverty is one of the greatest problems facing South Africa and it still remains very high. The following content will discuss Poverty. A brief overview of Poverty in South Africa will be discussed and the effects it has in South Africa. Education in South Africa will be discussed briefly, in terms of its issues. A description of how poverty influences the different business environments (micro, macro and market) of businesses in education will be discussed.
The link between democracy and human rights has been recognized by many scholars. For example O’Donnell (2004) summarized the quality of democracy as: Quality of Democracy = human rights + human development. This viewpoint indicates that democracy encapsulates human rights. Several research findings strongly support the idea that states with higher levels of democracy, regardless of their election rules, are more respectful of human rights (Davenport 1997; Poe, Tate, and Keith 1999).
The apartheid was a very traumatic time for blacks in South Africa. Apartheid is the act of literally separating the races, whites and non-whites, and in 1948 the apartheid was now legal, and government enforced. The South African police began forcing relocations for black South Africans into tribal lines, which decreased their political influence and created white supremacy. After relocating the black South Africans, this gave whites around eighty percent of the land within South Africa. Jonathan Jansen, and Nick Taylor state “The population is roughly 78 percent black, 10 percent white, 9 percent colored, and l...