Peacemaker and Prisoner of the Past: President Nelson Mandela and South African Conflict Resolution in Southern Africa
Williams, Christopher Anthony.
2018
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This study examines how South Africa's negotiated transition shaped
President Nelson Mandela's later peacemaking efforts throughout southern Africa.
To better understand this relationship the dissertation draws on an
interdisciplinary body of research that combines cognitive psychology,
international relations theory and history. This research provides an explanation
as to how and why seminal ... read moreevents (like South Africa's transition) produce
"lessons" that officials later rely on when dealing with similar circumstances
they find complex and challenging. The research on historical learning is combined
with previously unutilized primary sources to produce case studies on South
African peacemaking efforts in Lesotho, Angola and Zaire. These case studies
provide a detailed look at the process of South African peacemaking, and
illuminate the ways in which South Africa's own transition affected Mandela's
approach to regional peacemaking. Though Mandela relied on an approach to
peacemaking gleaned from South Africa's transition, he was not able to replicate
his own country's success. The case studies explain the difficulties South Africa
had in promoting peace throughout its region by closely examining the context of
each conflict. This analysis sheds light on why Mandela's use of the lessons of
South Africa's transition led to only limited success in resolving conflicts in
southern Africa. In addition to addressing the relationship between South Africa's
own transition and the Mandela Administration's conflict resolution efforts, the
dissertations contributes to a better understanding of the human tendency to
process new information through the prism of past experiences. Its findings
caution policymakers to think critically and carefully on how to distil the
relevant principles of peacemaking from past examples, while also acknowledging
the particulars of each situation. This research also affords a new angle from
which to view Nelson Mandela—one of Africa's most revered, but not necessarily
well-researched statesmen. It reveals that Mandela was more than the ceremonial
president he is sometimes portrayed as, and demonstrates his commitment to
creating peace and stability on the African continent.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2018.
Submitted to the Dept. of Diplomacy, History, and Politics.
Advisor: Alex Waal.
Committee: Gilbert Khadiagala, Sulmaan Khan, and William Martel.
Keywords: African studies, International relations, and Cognitive psychology.read less - ID:
- j9602c41n
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