South Africa - Acknowledgments and Preface
South Africa
The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of the writers of
the 1981 edition of South Africa: A Country Study , edited by
Harold D. Nelson. The authors also wish to thank numerous individuals in
various government agencies and private institutions who generously
shared their expertise and research materials in the production of this
book. Thanks are due to R.T.K. Scully, Medical Assistance Programs (MAP)
International; Harvey Leifert, Medical Education for South African
Blacks (MESAB), Inc.; James B. Parks, American Federation of
Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); Smaroula Georgina
Stephens, United States Information Agency; and Witney Schneidman,
Samuels International Associates. Valuable assistance was also provided
by analysts Brenda Branaman, Ed Campbell, Joe Dickie, Simon Dodge, W.
Fitzpatrick, Thomas Ofcansky, and Rachel Warner. Specialists at the
International Labor Organization; Investor Responsibility Research
Center; United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
International Programs Center; and World Bank-International Monetary
Fund Joint Library also helped the authors acquire recent information on
South Africa. None of these individuals is responsible for the work of
the authors, however.
Members of the diplomatic mission of South Africa provided valuable
assistance despite the pressing demands of their country's political
transition. Juan A. Henriquez, of the South African Embassy Public
Affairs Office, deserves particular thanks; he and several other embassy
officials took time to explain the often complex transition as it
unfolded in their country. The views presented in this book do not
necessarily agree with theirs, however.
Several employees of the Library of Congress made special efforts to
acquire timely materials on South Africa for this volume. Afaf S.
McGowan, of the African/Middle Eastern Acquisitions Section; M. Laverne
Page, of the African-Middle Eastern Division; and Joseph Rowe, of the
Federal Research Division, deserve particular mention.
The authors also wish to thank members of the Federal Research
Division staff who contributed directly to the preparation of the
manuscript. These people include Sandra W. Meditz, who reviewed all
drafts and served as liaison with the sponsoring agency; Marilyn
Majeska, who managed editing and book production; Andrea Merrill, who
reviewed tables and maps; Barbara Edgerton and Izella Watson, who
performed word processing and initial typesetting; and David P. Cabitto
and Janie L. Gilchrist, who prepared the camera-ready copy. Thanks also
to Helen C. Metz for proofreading almost-final copy.
Contributors to the preparation of this volume also included Mimi
Cantwell, who edited chapters; Carolyn Hinton, who performed the
prepublication editorial review; and Joan C. Cook, who compiled the
index. Graphics were prepared by David P. Cabitto, who, along with the
firm of Maryland Mapping and Graphics, prepared the final maps. Special
thanks are owed to Sandra K. Ferrell, who designed the illustrations on
the cover and the title page of the chapters.
Finally, the authors acknowledge the generosity of individuals who
allowed their photographs to be used in this study. Particular thanks go
to R.T.K. Scully for photographs taken during his extensive
anthropological research and travels in South Africa.
South Africa's emergence from global isolation in the 1990s parallels
its political and economic reorganization, as it works to eliminate
vestiges of the notorious system of apartheid. That system provoked
international condemnation and deprived society of much of its human
potential, and coping with its legacies has complicated the process of
establishing a new system based on nonracial norms. An interim
constitution, first implemented in April 1994 to govern the political
transition, is being replaced by a new constitution, intended to protect
legal equality for individuals regardless of racial identity after 1999.
The transition has just passed the halfway mark as this book goes to
press, and this volume reflects the fact that many political and social
issues remain unresolved.
This book replaces South Africa: A Country Study , also
produced in a time of turmoil in 1981, as the country began to recognize
some of the demands for broader political participation by all racial
groups. Like its predecessor, this study is an attempt to treat in a
concise and objective manner the dominant historical, social, economic,
political, and national security aspects of contemporary South Africa.
Sources of information included scholarly books, journal articles, and
monographs; official reports of governments and international
organizations; foreign and domestic newspapers; the authors' previous
research and observations; and numerous periodicals. Chapter
bibliographies appear at the end of the book; brief comments on
particularly valuable sources appear at the end of each chapter.
Place-names follow the system adopted by the United States Board on
Geographic Names (BGN), wherever possible. Nine new provinces have been
designated to replace the four provinces and ten homelands of the
apartheid era. Some other desigations--for historical landmarks, public
holidays, as well as some public buildings and government offices--are
still being changed in the mid-1990s in recognition of the country's new
political dispensation. New names have been included as available. As of
early 1997, the provincial capital of KwaZulu-Natal is still to be
decided between Ulundi and Pietermaritzburg. The apartheid-era
designation for the racial category known as "coloured" is
retained in this volume for historical accuracy.
The country has eleven official languages, which include nine Bantu
languages, selected to recognize the first language of almost all South
Africans. The two previous official languages, Afrikaans and English,
remain important, but the former no longer dominates the public media
and is being phased out in some official contexts, such as military
training. Some provincial legislatures are considering language policies
to be incorporated into provincial constitutions in the late 1990s.
All measurements in this book rely on the metric system; a conversion
table is provided to assist those readers who are unfamiliar with metric
measurements (see table 1, Appendix). A glossary is also included to
explain terms with which the reader may not be familiar. The use of the
term billion follows the American system; for example, one
billion means 1,000,000,000.
The body of the text reflects information available as of May 1996.
Certain other portions of the text, however, have been updated. The
Bibliography lists published sources thought to be particularly helpful
to the reader.
South Africa
South Africa - Acknowledgments and Preface
South Africa
The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of the writers of
the 1981 edition of South Africa: A Country Study , edited by
Harold D. Nelson. The authors also wish to thank numerous individuals in
various government agencies and private institutions who generously
shared their expertise and research materials in the production of this
book. Thanks are due to R.T.K. Scully, Medical Assistance Programs (MAP)
International; Harvey Leifert, Medical Education for South African
Blacks (MESAB), Inc.; James B. Parks, American Federation of
Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); Smaroula Georgina
Stephens, United States Information Agency; and Witney Schneidman,
Samuels International Associates. Valuable assistance was also provided
by analysts Brenda Branaman, Ed Campbell, Joe Dickie, Simon Dodge, W.
Fitzpatrick, Thomas Ofcansky, and Rachel Warner. Specialists at the
International Labor Organization; Investor Responsibility Research
Center; United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
International Programs Center; and World Bank-International Monetary
Fund Joint Library also helped the authors acquire recent information on
South Africa. None of these individuals is responsible for the work of
the authors, however.
Members of the diplomatic mission of South Africa provided valuable
assistance despite the pressing demands of their country's political
transition. Juan A. Henriquez, of the South African Embassy Public
Affairs Office, deserves particular thanks; he and several other embassy
officials took time to explain the often complex transition as it
unfolded in their country. The views presented in this book do not
necessarily agree with theirs, however.
Several employees of the Library of Congress made special efforts to
acquire timely materials on South Africa for this volume. Afaf S.
McGowan, of the African/Middle Eastern Acquisitions Section; M. Laverne
Page, of the African-Middle Eastern Division; and Joseph Rowe, of the
Federal Research Division, deserve particular mention.
The authors also wish to thank members of the Federal Research
Division staff who contributed directly to the preparation of the
manuscript. These people include Sandra W. Meditz, who reviewed all
drafts and served as liaison with the sponsoring agency; Marilyn
Majeska, who managed editing and book production; Andrea Merrill, who
reviewed tables and maps; Barbara Edgerton and Izella Watson, who
performed word processing and initial typesetting; and David P. Cabitto
and Janie L. Gilchrist, who prepared the camera-ready copy. Thanks also
to Helen C. Metz for proofreading almost-final copy.
Contributors to the preparation of this volume also included Mimi
Cantwell, who edited chapters; Carolyn Hinton, who performed the
prepublication editorial review; and Joan C. Cook, who compiled the
index. Graphics were prepared by David P. Cabitto, who, along with the
firm of Maryland Mapping and Graphics, prepared the final maps. Special
thanks are owed to Sandra K. Ferrell, who designed the illustrations on
the cover and the title page of the chapters.
Finally, the authors acknowledge the generosity of individuals who
allowed their photographs to be used in this study. Particular thanks go
to R.T.K. Scully for photographs taken during his extensive
anthropological research and travels in South Africa.
South Africa's emergence from global isolation in the 1990s parallels
its political and economic reorganization, as it works to eliminate
vestiges of the notorious system of apartheid. That system provoked
international condemnation and deprived society of much of its human
potential, and coping with its legacies has complicated the process of
establishing a new system based on nonracial norms. An interim
constitution, first implemented in April 1994 to govern the political
transition, is being replaced by a new constitution, intended to protect
legal equality for individuals regardless of racial identity after 1999.
The transition has just passed the halfway mark as this book goes to
press, and this volume reflects the fact that many political and social
issues remain unresolved.
This book replaces South Africa: A Country Study , also
produced in a time of turmoil in 1981, as the country began to recognize
some of the demands for broader political participation by all racial
groups. Like its predecessor, this study is an attempt to treat in a
concise and objective manner the dominant historical, social, economic,
political, and national security aspects of contemporary South Africa.
Sources of information included scholarly books, journal articles, and
monographs; official reports of governments and international
organizations; foreign and domestic newspapers; the authors' previous
research and observations; and numerous periodicals. Chapter
bibliographies appear at the end of the book; brief comments on
particularly valuable sources appear at the end of each chapter.
Place-names follow the system adopted by the United States Board on
Geographic Names (BGN), wherever possible. Nine new provinces have been
designated to replace the four provinces and ten homelands of the
apartheid era. Some other desigations--for historical landmarks, public
holidays, as well as some public buildings and government offices--are
still being changed in the mid-1990s in recognition of the country's new
political dispensation. New names have been included as available. As of
early 1997, the provincial capital of KwaZulu-Natal is still to be
decided between Ulundi and Pietermaritzburg. The apartheid-era
designation for the racial category known as "coloured" is
retained in this volume for historical accuracy.
The country has eleven official languages, which include nine Bantu
languages, selected to recognize the first language of almost all South
Africans. The two previous official languages, Afrikaans and English,
remain important, but the former no longer dominates the public media
and is being phased out in some official contexts, such as military
training. Some provincial legislatures are considering language policies
to be incorporated into provincial constitutions in the late 1990s.
All measurements in this book rely on the metric system; a conversion
table is provided to assist those readers who are unfamiliar with metric
measurements (see table 1, Appendix). A glossary is also included to
explain terms with which the reader may not be familiar. The use of the
term billion follows the American system; for example, one
billion means 1,000,000,000.
The body of the text reflects information available as of May 1996.
Certain other portions of the text, however, have been updated. The
Bibliography lists published sources thought to be particularly helpful
to the reader.
South Africa
