Overview

Overcoming the Oppressors traces southern Africa's long walk to freedom, the overturning of colonial rule in the northern territories, and the dissolution of backs-to-the-wall white settler suzerainty, first in what became Zimbabwe and then in South Africa. Chapters on the individual countries detail the stages along their sometimes complicated and tortuous struggle to attain the political New Zion. Rotberg explains how and why the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland failed, how and why apartheid eventually collapsed, and exactly how the various components of this heavily white conquered, and later white oppressed, domain transitioned via diverse fits and starts into today's assemblage of proud, politically charged, and still mostly fragmented nation-states. But what did the new republics make of their hard-won freedoms? Having liberated themselves successfully, several soon dismantled democratic safeguards, established effective single-party states, closed their economies, deprived citizens of human rights and civil liberties, and exchanged economic progress for varieties of central planning experiments and stunted forms of protected economic endeavors. Only Botswana, of the new entities, embraced full democracy and good governance. The others, even South Africa, at first tightly regimented their economies and attempted to severely limit the degrees of economic freedom and social progress that citizens could enjoy. Corruption prevailed everywhere except Botswana. Today, as the chapters on contemporary southern Africa reveal, most of the southern half of the African continent is returning, if sometimes struggling, to the patterns of probity and good governance that many countries abandoned in the decades after independence.

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9780197674208

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Reviews

Written from a rare first-row vantage and offering a blend of scholarly analysis and personal observation, Overcoming the Oppressors is a masterful and unflinching analysis of the difficult political journey of southern African countries up from colonial domination, through independence, to a mixed postcolonial aftermath. The question of how the newly independent societies handled their hard-won freedoms has been posed before, but rarely with the kind of refreshing candor that Robert Rotberg brings to bear. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the fortunes of contemporary southern Africa, and indeed the fate of the entire African region. * Ebenezer Obadare, Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Washington, D.C. * Overcoming the Oppressors provides a survey of the current political and economic state of southern Africa. The book demonstrates a depth of research by a leading Africanist that is comprehensive yet concise in its sweep. This work is accessible and readable. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Africa. * Richard J. Goldstone, Retired Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa * Professor Rotberg's expertly researched account of Namibia overcoming oppression is highly readable, given his clarity of analysis combined with his acute insight and observations of many of the key players involved, many of whom have been personally known to him. Written with balanced and judicious detachment, it is a compelling read. * David Smuts, Judge of the Supreme Court of Namibia * This erudite rendition locates the making of contemporary Namibia against the histories of Southern Africa, with special emphasis on German and South African colonialism. The book will have a wide readership. * Andre du Pisani, University of Namibia * Robert Rotberg has been one of the most prolific and worth-reading observers of African freedom struggles and post-colonial development over the last six decades. In this book, he adds an unrivalled, close-to-the-action account of this sweeping process informed by his extensive connections with key political actors involved, as one country after another has moved from colonialism to independence. Packed with personal insights and observation, this wide-ranging survey stresses more than most the crucial importance of the quality of political leadership. Overcoming the Oppressors is a uniquely valuable addition to the literature. * Roger Southall, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa * Robert Rotberg brings to bear six decades of unbroken engagement with Southern African politics in this highly perceptive study of the region's fraught politics of leadership. The book's prescriptions merit reading and acting on. * Miles Tendi, University of Oxford * The central role that good governance, effective and capable governance plays in the economic and social development of a country is widely recognized. The central theme of the book examines what can be done to strengthen good governance in Southern Africa. This is done in the context of the complex history of Southern Africa and the struggles of its people to attain independence and end colonial rule and white domination. The book further examines the evolution of post-independence dictatorships that emerged in some of countries in the post- independence era. It highlights the role of good leadership in the development of good governance in a national state. The book delivers a clear analysis of a complex political history of the Southern African States. It is a brilliant and compelling read. * William Nelson Cromwell, Cornell Law School *

Author Information

Robert I. Rotberg is the Founding Director of the Harvard Kennedy School's Program on Intrastate Conflict.

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