Towards an understanding of the Afrikanerisation of the South African state

Abstract

AbstractWith President F. W. De Klerk's speech of 2 February 1990 and the dramatic changes subsequently evident in South African politics, many scholars have aptly turned their eyes on the state. If a transition towards some form of majority rule is at hand, as most observers believe, the questions are: what is the condition of the state to be inherited by the new governors, and how did it acquire this condition?One of the most striking processes has been the so-called afrikanerisation of the state, occurring throughout most of the twentieth century and especially after the (Purified) National Party victory of 1948. The article therefore first identifies beliefs and habits Afrikaner members of the bureaucratic elite acquired during their ascent through Afrikanerdom and, second, analyses the attempt to institutionalise these beliefs and habits within the state. The article is thus about the actions of an Afrikaner bureaucratic elite, ensconced in leading positions in all sectors of the state over the last forty years at least.