Redefining resistance and challenges to National Party power, 1968–83 — Edexcel A-Level History
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Redefining resistance and challenges to National Party power, 1968–83 explained
Redefining resistance and challenges to National Party power, 1968–83 covers 4 specification points, including Steve Biko and the South African Students’… and Decline in the early 70s; internal….
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Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
Black Consciousness and the Soweto uprising, including: Steve Biko and the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO); the mobilisation of school children; the Soweto Uprising, its significance and suppression. The impact of the death of Steve Biko 1977.
Black Consciousness, shaped by Steve Biko and the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO), rejected white-led opposition and urged black South Africans to assert psychological and cultural pride. SASO’s community programmes and slogans such as ‘Black man, you are on your own’ mobilised school children, who in 1976 protested against Afrikaans-medium instruction. The Soweto Uprising began on 16 June 1976 when pupils marched; police opened fire, triggering nationwide unrest. Its significance lay in exposing the state’s brutality, radicalising a generation and prompting a violent crackdown that banned organisations and detained activists. Biko’s death in police custody in 1977 intensified international condemnation and made him a symbol of resistance.
The ANC re-strengthened: decline in the early 70s; internal reorganisation and external legitimacy; the role of Oliver Tambo; the global anti-apartheid movement.
After the banning of the ANC in 1960, the organisation declined in the early 1970s as leaders were imprisoned or exiled and internal structures were disrupted. Recovery came through internal reorganisation, including the revival of underground networks and rebuilding of MK structures, and through external legitimacy gained via diplomatic campaigns and international alliances. Oliver Tambo, as acting president from 1967 and president from 1969 to 1991, was central to this revival, directing the ANC from exile and building support abroad. The global anti-apartheid movement, including the British AAM and the UN’s 1973 designation of apartheid as a crime against humanity, isolated the apartheid regime and strengthened the ANC’s cause.
Domestic challenges to National Party power, 1974–83, including political unrest, problems in the Bantustans, National Party division and scandal, economic pressures and the cost of defence commitments.
From 1974, National Party rule faced interconnected domestic strains. Political unrest, notably the Soweto uprising (1976), exposed the failure of Bantu Education and sparked sustained protest. The Bantustans, designed as nominally independent homelands, suffered poverty, overcrowding and denied citizenship, undermining their legitimacy. Within the NP, verligte–verkrampte divisions and the Muldergate scandal (1978) damaged unity and public trust. Economic pressures included recession, inflation and skills shortages, while defence spending on the SADF and border war consumed resources. These challenges did not immediately end apartheid but eroded the NP's capacity to govern without reform or repression.
External pressures on National Party power, 1974–83, including political change in southern Africa, international condemnation and calls for economic sanctions, cultural and sporting boycotts.
Between 1974 and 1983, external pressures increasingly isolated the National Party. Political change in southern Africa—Mozambique and Angola gaining independence in 1975, Zimbabwe in 1980—removed friendly buffer states and inspired resistance. International condemnation grew through UN resolutions and Commonwealth criticism. Calls for economic sanctions intensified, though major powers were slow to act. Cultural and sporting boycotts, such as the 1976 Montreal Olympics exclusion and the Gleneagles Agreement (1977), targeted apartheid's international image. These pressures did not force immediate change but raised the costs of maintaining apartheid and contributed to the NP's later reforms.
Your focus
- Describe the role of Steve Biko and SASO in promoting Black Consciousness.
- Explain how school children were mobilised and why the Soweto Uprising began on 16 June 1976.
- Evaluate the significance and suppression of the Soweto Uprising and the impact of Biko’s death in 1977.
Show all 12 objectives
- Describe the decline of the ANC in the early 1970s and the reasons for it.
- Explain how internal reorganisation and external legitimacy contributed to the ANC’s revival.
- Assess the role of Oliver Tambo and the global anti-apartheid movement in strengthening the ANC.
- Students can identify and describe key domestic challenges to NP power between 1974 and 1983.
- Students can analyse how these challenges interacted to weaken NP authority.
- Students can evaluate the relative significance of each challenge in explaining the NP's response.
- Students can identify key external pressures on the NP between 1974 and 1983.
- Students can analyse how regional political change and international actions challenged NP power.
- Students can evaluate the extent to which external pressures forced the NP to modify apartheid.
Redefining resistance and challenges to National Party power, 1968–83 exam tips
Marking Points
- Explains how SASO, formed in 1968–69, broke from NUSAS and promoted Black Consciousness through literacy campaigns, health clinics and self-help projects.
- Analyses how school children were mobilised by Black Consciousness ideas, the Afrikaans Medium Decree and the example of student activism, leading to the 16 June 1976 march.
- Assesses the significance of the Soweto Uprising: it exposed police violence, spread unrest across South Africa and radicalised a generation of young activists.
- Evaluates the suppression: police shootings, mass arrests, the banning of Black Consciousness organisations and the detention of leaders.
- Explains the impact of Steve Biko’s death in 1977: global outrage, the banning of Black Consciousness organisations and his enduring symbolic status.
- Explains the decline of the ANC in the early 1970s: banning, imprisonment of leaders such as Mandela and Sisulu, and exile.
- Analyses internal reorganisation: rebuilding underground networks, the revival of the armed struggle (MK), and establishing communication between exiled leaders and internal operatives.
- Assesses external legitimacy: diplomatic recognition, UN resolutions and alliances with newly independent African states.
- Evaluates Oliver Tambo’s role: leading the ANC in exile (acting president from 1967, president 1969–1991), building international support and maintaining organisational unity.
- Explains the global anti-apartheid movement: consumer boycotts, sports boycotts and the role of organisations such as the British Anti-Apartheid Movement.
- Explains how the Soweto uprising and subsequent unrest challenged NP authority and forced limited reforms.
- Analyses the political and economic failure of the Bantustan system, including loss of citizenship and dependence on South Africa.
- Discusses NP internal divisions (verligte vs verkrampte) and the impact of the Muldergate scandal on party credibility.
- Assesses how economic pressures (recession, inflation, skills shortages) and defence costs strained NP resources and legitimacy.
- Explains how decolonisation in Mozambique, Angola and Zimbabwe altered the regional balance and threatened NP security.
- Analyses the role of international organisations (UN, Commonwealth) in condemning apartheid and promoting sanctions.
- Discusses the impact of economic sanctions calls, including disinvestment and trade restrictions, on the South African economy.
- Assesses the effectiveness of cultural and sporting boycotts in isolating South Africa and challenging NP legitimacy.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Use precise dates and names, such as 16 June 1976, SASO and Biko, to support arguments about significance and suppression.
- 💡Link the uprising to both immediate causes, such as the Afrikaans Medium Decree, and longer-term Black Consciousness ideology.
- 💡When discussing Biko’s death, distinguish between its immediate political impact and its longer-term symbolic legacy.
- 💡Use specific examples of external legitimacy, such as UN resolutions or the 1981 sports boycott, to support arguments.
- 💡Link internal reorganisation to external legitimacy to show how the ANC re-strengthened on multiple fronts.
- 💡When discussing Tambo, refer to his long leadership in exile and his role in international diplomacy.
- 💡Use specific examples (e.g., Soweto 1976, Muldergate 1978) to illustrate each challenge.
- 💡Link domestic challenges to the NP's later reforms (e.g., 1983 constitution) to show significance.
- 💡Balance coverage of political, economic and social factors in essays.
- 💡Use specific examples (e.g., Gleneagles Agreement, 1976 Olympics) to illustrate external pressures.
- 💡Link external pressures to domestic responses, such as NP reforms or increased repression.
- 💡Consider the limitations of external pressure to avoid one-sided arguments.
Common Mistakes
- Treating the Soweto Uprising as a single-day event; correction: it began on 16 June 1976 and continued for months, spreading to other townships.
- Assuming Biko died in the Soweto Uprising; correction: he was arrested in 1977 and died in police custody on 12 September 1977.
- Confusing SASO with the ANC Youth League; correction: SASO was a separate Black Consciousness student organisation formed in the late 1960s.
- Assuming the ANC was completely inactive in the early 1970s; correction: it maintained underground structures and began rebuilding.
- Confusing internal ANC reorganisation with the later UDF; correction: internal reorganisation refers to the ANC rebuilding its own underground and MK structures, whereas the UDF was a separate internal coalition launched later in 1983.
- Overlooking Tambo’s diplomatic role; correction: he was instrumental in securing international support and recognition for the ANC.
- Treating the Bantustans as genuinely independent states; correction: they remained economically and politically dependent on South Africa and were not internationally recognised.
- Assuming NP divisions were only personal rivalries; correction: they reflected deeper ideological splits over reform and apartheid's future.
- Ignoring the link between defence spending and domestic economic pressures; correction: border war costs diverted funds from social spending and fuelled inflation.
- Overstating the immediate economic impact of sanctions; correction: sanctions had gradual and uneven effects, with some states continuing trade.
- Assuming all external pressure was coordinated; correction: actions varied by country and organisation, with mixed motives.
- Ignoring the role of sporting boycotts in mobilising domestic and international opposition; correction: they were highly visible and embarrassed the NP regime.