Article
International Norms and the End of Apartheid in South Africa
Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Studies
(2015)
Abstract
This article examines the interface in the post-World War II era between expanding global movements supporting human rights and traditional great power concerns regarding global security, and asks why an international alliance of actors mobilized to pressure the Western powers, particularly the USA, to politically isolate and economically sanction South Africa in the midst of the cold war. We argue that in the international struggle against apartheid, humanist (human rights) ideology emanating from social movements in global civil society clashed with traditional realist ideology regarding what constituted state security in the global polity. The norms of self-determination of nations and anti-racism together fueled global activism and challenged powerful Western states. Facing mass protests and lobbying efforts from citizens, democratic states across the Western world found greater security in upholding their own professed human rights principles than in maintaining close economic ties to the apartheid regime.
Keywords
- International norms,
- Apartheid,
- South Africa
Disciplines
Publication Date
July, 2015
DOI
10.1080/17533171.2015.1054224
Publisher Statement
Taylor & Francis Group
Citation Information
Vernon D Johnson and Eliot Dickinson. "International Norms and the End of Apartheid in South Africa" Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Studies Vol. 16 Iss. 4 (2015) p. 355 - 377 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/vernon-johnson/6/