Contenu du sommaire : Afrique du Sud ambiguë.

Contemporary Afrikaner ideology has its origins in traditional Boer beliefs. It is based upon an interpretation of History, the religious vision of the Dutch Reformed Churches, and a specific language, Afrikaans. This political culture first appeared as a reaction against British imperialism throughout the XIXth century, resulting in the forming of a strong nationalism which in the XXth century will triumph with the institutionalization of racial segregation. Nowadays, the Afrikaner community is experiencing the most dramatic crisis of its history. Its traditional values and institutions, which meet growing criticism from the Black population and from a fraction of the white constituents as well, seem to be unable to cope with the deep changes occurring in South Africa. Threatened by dissolution, the Afrikaner nation is looking for patterns it has yet to invent.

Crisis of the South African educational system. The crisis of the South African educational system, especially in secondary schools reveals the contradictions between three logics simultaneously operating. First, the government's policy implies the maintenance of separation in education for different racial groups, one of the fundamental tenets of apartheid, untouched by reforms. Secondly, the business circles, ask for a better qualified work force, required for economic growth : to meet these demands, educational expenses are growing at a fast rate, but the realization of the principle of equal expenditures for each group appears still very remote, and given the increase of school population, the quality of education for non-Whites remains poor. The third logic is the logic of non white social actors : students and teachers whose aspirations and demands, stimulated by education, are confronted with obstacles coming from the existing social order and with repression.

Since the beginning of the 1970's, the South African regime has been undertaking a major shift, as far as its power structure is concerned. The decision-making process is presently in the hands of a few top civil servants, businessmen and politicians, amongst whom high-ranking soldiers have a leading role. The South African policy-making process is thus embodied into an integrated militaristic organization, gathered around the State President. Convinced that it was the main target of a communist inspired «total onslaught», the regime has been able to build up an impressive war machine (on Africa's scale) supported by an integrated industrial and commercial structure and a mobilized white population.

Apartheid and ethnicism : the Zulu case. White domination in South Africa is in crisis. For a few supporters of the system, this crisis, does not exist really, eventhough few reforms must be done. For them, there are only internal problems inside the non white communities : young against old, ethnic or tribal conflicts. G. Buthelezi and his Zulu mass movement fnfcatha are (for them) the living proof of the validity of their analysis. Inkatha claims more than one million members. However, with the domination of Inka- tha on the administration of KwaZulu, it seems that a lot of the card-carriers do not agree with the ideology of Inkatha and are more receptive to Black independent trade-union or Progressive parties... Eventhough Buthelezi claims some links of Inkatha with ANC, in fact his program is close to the PFP and opposed to the «one man, one vote» slogan.

The renewal of the black unions. In an effort to avoid unorganized labour conflicts and to stand aloof from the apartheid system, South African big business managed to persuade the Government of the need for legal non-White trade unions. In 1979, Black and multiracial trade unions were granted full trade union rights. Since then, they have been highly successful in attracting an ever increasing number of workers, in improving their structures and in unifying the unions into huge confederations. Nowadays, they stand as one of the main pressure groups in the country. They play a significant role not only in the field of labour relations, but also in the present political controversy. However, this tremendous potential strength is jeopardized by political divisions. The three main Black political organizations (ANC/UDF, AZAPO, Inkatha) have generated their own politically inspired trade union system, thus weakening die trade unions global bargaining power. Nevertheless, Black trade unions are definitely the symbol of an emerging Black economic power.

South African music : a fuzzy triplet... South African music can be perceived as the aesthetical embodiment of a broader dream of cultural unity expressed in different representations and ideologies. History shows that it grew out of many contacts between South Africa's different communities ; today's musical forms blend characters borrowed from their cultural traditions. But, because of segregation and apartheid, South African popular music, in spite of its mixity, has acquired a «black» identity that leads supporters of the «white» powers to categorize its practitioners and fans alike as «pro-African» or «anti-apartheid». What is the most complete expression of the common history of South African peoples has therefore been put into the hands of the African majority which is, now, the only group liable to give it back to South Africa as a whole. In this particular respect, as in some others, music participates in the struggle for the liberation of South Africa.

South Africa's regional political economy : a critical analysis of reform strategy in the 1980's. The authors develop a critical analysis of the emerging reformist regional strategy of the South African government. New controls on labour movement and settlements (termed «orderly urbanization»), regional development policies, through die creation of déconcentration points and industrial development points, and local and second tier of government reforms, are the three major components of this reform process. Subsequent constitutional changes are examined, together with the federal option, as it could be prefigured in the new organization of Natal/KwaZulu. The strategy is shown as a means of preventing profound changes in the distribution of power in the country.