The Apartheid was the racial segregation that lasted from 1948 to 1994 in South Africa when the discrimination occurred, forcing the affected people to leave their homelands and prevent the regions from developing. The regime appeared during the post-World War II period when many countries suffered from economic and social damage and had to revise the value of people’s lives. However, South Africa did not benefit from the period of increased attention to human rights. Moreover, the country was thrown into poverty, and the gap between poor and wealthy became too significant as the former needed to fight for fundamental rights. South African government that established the Apartheid allowed racism at the legislative level, prohibited people of color from living normally, and blocked the opportunity to build a thriving society.
The topic I explored analyzes the consequences of the segregative regime on the South African economy and society. The events like forced moving from motherlands for affected people, eliminating their rights, protests, and foreign interventions impacted that dark period of South African history. This research aims to determine the economic and social consequences of South African Apartheid based on specific past events and current conditions.
Historical Context: When World War II ended with the victory over the discriminative regime promoted by Adolf Hitler, South Africa had a chance to improve the economy and overall quality of life as the region received support from European and American military forces. However, these peacemaking soldiers took over the governmental power and established the Apartheid – segregation that forced the affected groups to leave their homes and deprived their chance to improve the economy and society (Musavengane & Leonard, 2019). Paradoxically, while the world celebrated human rights and judged the Holocaust, the wealthiest and most developed Africa’s land was thrown into poverty and inequity. After more than 50 years of Apartheid, the new South African government tried to decrease the damage by improving educational and job opportunities for the affected people (Nussey, 1995). The regime affected the poorest regions the most, therefore, the measures to re-build the economy and society were not successful.
Impact of Historical Context: The Apartheid was a significant obstacle South Africa faced on its way to development, therefore the country’s situation became even worse than it was during the world’s suffering from the Wars. The history and outcomes of discrimination applied in the Holocaust raised the protest movements of educated people affected by the racial segregation in Africa (Musavengane & Leonard, 2019). Besides, the Apartheid establishers ordered to change the structure of cities by moving the citizens of color to more impoverished areas bringing significant economic damage caused by the inadequate usage of resources (Totaforti, 2020). Social institutions were severely affected by the regime, as the affected members were deprived of basic human rights (Nussey, 1995). The historical context vastly impacted the South African Apartheid as the resistant forces appeared, and the post-war conditions influence the country’s governance, economy, and society.
References
Musavengane, R., & Leonard, L. (2019). When race and social equity matters in nature conservation in post-apartheid South Africa. Conservation & Society, 17(2), 135-146. Web.
Nussey, W. (1995). After Apartheild, hope and decay. The Washington Post. Web.
Totaforti, S. (2020).Urban planning in post-apartheid South African cities: The case of Johannesburg. Open Journal of Political Science, 10(3), 507-520. Web.