South Africa in the Twentieth Century - Softcover

"Barber ... has written a detailed, interesting, and accurate analysis of an extraordinary country during an exceptional time" CHOICE.

"South Africa in the Twentieth Century is designed to introduce students of contemporary history, politics and international relations to key regions and themes which have dominated discussion of the past century. It does so admirably ... this is a book whose sheer erudition will guarantee it a prominent place on the shelves of anyone wishing to understand South Africa in the twentieth century." Contemporary British History

"This book is very accessible and engrossing, but is nevertheless of a high academic standard ... South Africa in the Twentieth Century is a major contribution to the literature on South African politics. It is essential reading not only for any scholar interested in South African politics but also for those with wider interests in questions of national self-identification and the way this affects political behaviour." Progress in Development Studies

For most of the century whites dominated the scene, creating a society in which they enjoyed economic privilege and exclusive control of the state. Yet they disputed among themselves who were the "true" South Africans, and therefore who should form the government. As the century advanced, and particularly after the Second World War, the assumption of white dominance was challenged, by advocates both of a non-racial nationalism and of African nationalism, until a "new" South Africa was born in 1994. This is a story therefore of struggle to realize a dominant nationalism through control of the state, the ways in which political leaders promoted their beliefs and interests; and their responses to the constraints and circumstances they encountered.