Breakthrough : the struggles and secret talks that brought apartheid South Africa to the negotiating table / Mac Maharaj and Z. Pallo Jordan.

Cape Town, South Africa : Penguin Books, 2021.

xxiv, 224 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm

"When President F.W. de Klerk announced the unbanning of the liberation movements on 2 February 1990, he opened the door to negotiations that would end apartheid and pave the way to democracy. But how did this moment come about? What power struggles and secret talks had brought the country to this point? Written by two ANC veterans who were close to these events, Breakthrough sheds new light on the process that led to the formal negotiations. The book focuses in particular on the years 1984-1990 and on the skirmishes that took place in the shadows, away from the public glare, as the principal adversaries engaged in a battle of positions that carved a pathway to the negotiating table. Drawing from material in the prison files of Nelson Mandela, minutes of the meetings of the ANC Constitutional Committee, the NWC and the NEC, notes about the Mells Park talks led by Professor Willie Esterhuyse and Thabo Mbeki, communications between Oliver Tambo and Operation Vula, the Kobie Coetsee Papers, the Broederbond archives and numerous other sources, the authors piece together a compelling narrative of events. Breakthrough demonstrates that the events that preceded the formal talks of 1990-1994 are crucial for a full understanding of South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy. "

English

November 11, 2021

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Breakthrough - The imprisoned society - The landscape is reconfigured - Apartheid bows, but does not bend - The gathering storm - State terrorism - The white laager wavers - Botha trips himself - Shaping setbacks into opportunities - Seizing the initiative - Botha in a bind - New terrain, new challenges - Annexures. A. Memo from Nelson Mandela to P.W. Botha - B. Constitutional guidelines for a democratic South Africa - C. Harare declaration.