Why negotiate? A stalemate by the late 1980s

Neither the apartheid state nor the liberation movements could win outright - which pushed both sides toward talks.

By the late 1980s apartheid was in deep crisis. Township revolt and repeated states of emergency showed the state could not restore order, while international sanctions, disinvestment and economic decline weakened the government. At the same time, the ANC could not overthrow the state by force. The result was a mutually hurting stalemate.

• The end of the Cold War (from 1989) removed the government's claim that it was fighting a Soviet 'total onslaught'.
• Secret talks between imprisoned Nelson Mandela and the government began under P.W. Botha in the late 1980s.
• F.W. de Klerk, who became State President in 1989, judged that reform through negotiation was the only viable route.

De Klerk unbans the movements; Mandela is freed

In one speech to parliament, F.W. de Klerk opened the door to a negotiated future.

On 2 February 1990 De Klerk unbanned the ANC, PAC, SACP and other organisations, lifted restrictions on the media and released many political prisoners. Nine days later, on 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela walked free after 27 years in prison.

• Exiles could return and the liberation movements could organise openly and legally.
• The Groote Schuur Minute (May 1990) and Pretoria Minute (August 1990) set ground rules; the ANC suspended the armed struggle.
• Removing the ban was the essential precondition for any legitimate negotiations.

From negotiation to democracy, 1990-1998

1. 1990 Movements unbanned; Mandela released (Feb)
2. 1991 CODESA I convenes at Kempton Park (Dec)
3. 1992 CODESA II deadlocks; Boipatong and Bisho massacres; Record of Understanding
4. 1993 Multiparty Negotiating Forum; Chris Hani assassinated; interim constitution agreed (Nov)
5. 1994 First democratic election (27 April); Mandela inaugurated (10 May)
6. 1996 TRC public hearings begin; final Constitution adopted
7. 1998 TRC hands over its final report (Oct)

Violence and mistrust nearly derailed talks

The negotiations took place against a backdrop of political violence that both sides accused each other of fuelling.

Between 1990 and 1994 thousands died in political violence, especially clashes between ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supporters, allegedly stoked by a 'third force' within the security establishment. Two massacres in 1992 brought talks to the brink.

• Boipatong massacre (17 June 1992): about 45 residents were killed; the ANC suspended negotiations.
• Bisho massacre (7 September 1992): Ciskei soldiers opened fire on ANC marchers, killing about 28 people.
• Right-wing white groups and the homeland leaders threatened to wreck any settlement.

CODESA I and CODESA II

The Convention for a Democratic South Africa was the first multiparty attempt to negotiate a new constitutional order.

CODESA I convened on 20-21 December 1991 at the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park, where most parties signed a Declaration of Intent committing to an undivided, democratic South Africa. CODESA II (May 1992) then collapsed in deadlock.

• Parties disagreed on the majorities needed to adopt a new constitution and on power-sharing.
• The government wanted strong minority protections; the ANC wanted clear majority rule.
• The IFP and some homeland leaders were uneasy about a strong central state.

The Record of Understanding and the MPNF

After the 1992 breakdown, bilateral trust-building and a new forum put the transition back on track.

On 26 September 1992 Mandela and De Klerk signed the Record of Understanding, a bilateral agreement on prisoners, hostels and the carrying of weapons that restored momentum. Talks resumed in 1993 through the Multiparty Negotiating Forum (MPNF).

• The Record of Understanding sidelined the IFP, which withdrew from talks in protest for a period.
• Cyril Ramaphosa (ANC) and Roelf Meyer (government) became the key channel between the two main parties.
• The assassination of SACP leader Chris Hani on 10 April 1993 raised the stakes and pushed parties to set an election date quickly.

The compromises that made democracy possible

Democracy was secured through negotiated guarantees that reassured the outgoing regime.

The first democratic election

For the first time, South Africans of all races voted in a single national election.

Voting took place over several days, with 27 April 1994 as the main polling day - now celebrated as Freedom Day. The IFP only agreed to take part days before the election, and its name was added to ballots by sticker. Turnout was huge, with long, patient queues across the country.

• Roughly 19.7 million valid votes were cast in a peaceful poll.
• It was a founding, non-racial election under universal adult suffrage.
• The election delivered the legitimacy that decades of apartheid rule had lacked.

The result and the Government of National Unity

The ANC won a clear majority, and a power-sharing government took office under Nelson Mandela.

The ANC won about 62.6% of the vote, the National Party about 20.4%, and the IFP about 10.5%. As agreed, a Government of National Unity was formed. Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as President on 10 May 1994, with Thabo Mbeki and F.W. de Klerk as deputy presidents.

• The ANC won a majority but not the two-thirds needed to write the final constitution alone.
• The NP and IFP both took seats in the cabinet under the power-sharing deal.
• The final Constitution, honouring the agreed principles, was adopted in 1996.

Establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Rather than trials like Nuremberg or a blanket amnesty, South Africa chose a public reckoning with its past.

There is no future without forgiveness. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chairperson of the TRC

The TRC was created by the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act (Act 34 of 1995) and chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Its purpose was to establish as complete a picture as possible of gross human rights violations committed between 1960 and 1994, and to promote national unity and reconciliation.

• It offered a 'third way' between prosecuting everyone (retributive justice) and forgetting (blanket amnesty).
• Its approach drew on ideas of restorative justice and the concept of ubuntu.
• Victims were given a public platform to tell their stories and be officially acknowledged.

Three committees, one process

The Commission gathered truth through public testimony and a conditional amnesty.

The TRC: achievements and criticisms

The TRC is admired worldwide, but historians and South Africans still debate how much it achieved.

The Commission heard over 20,000 statements and handed over its main final report in October 1998 (with further volumes later). It documented atrocities that had been denied, gave victims public recognition, and helped prevent a cycle of revenge. Yet its record is contested.

• Achievements: it exposed hidden truths, humanised victims, and offered a model of peaceful reckoning studied around the world.
• Criticisms: amnesty denied some families justice; reparations to victims were widely seen as slow and inadequate.
• Many key perpetrators refused to co-operate, and some questioned whether 'reconciliation' was really achieved.

A negotiated democracy and an unfinished reckoning

South Africa avoided civil war through compromise, then tried to heal through truth-telling - both achievements remain debated.

The transition of 1990-1994 shows history made by human choices under pressure: a stalemate, a breakthrough, repeated breakdowns, and hard-won compromises that produced a democratic election and a power-sharing government. The TRC then tried to confront the past through truth rather than revenge - a bold experiment whose successes and shortcomings are still argued over today.