Conquest and Conflict in South Africa

To reach an insightful and realistic picture of the situation in South Africa, the article focuses on the means and techniques by which white rule was historically accomplished and maintained. The author distinguishes four interrelated realms of power and their corresponding means of control: coercive control, ideo- logical control, political control and economic power. He shows the changing significance of these four means of control in relation to the historical circumstances in South Africa in the following sections: early conquest – coercive domination – ideological control – political control – economic control. Notes.