Synopsis
Bond (U. of the Witwatersand) goes around what he calls the "laudatory fluff" of the mainstream media's treatment of the South African government's international reform agenda and finds failures stacked behind it. He cites "flirtation" with dictators, failed invasion, and arms sales to countries with dreadful human rights records. Punctuated by political cartoons from South African newspapers by Zapiro, Bond's account includes the West's taking its own advantage of the situation, including denying relief, making speculative attacks, and arbitrarily applying unfair trade rules and practices. He explains the reaction of South Africa, which was to ignore certain issues and attempt to serve as the moral conscience of the world. He examines the contexts, the plethora of foreign and domestic issues, the political strategies and alliances with other nations, and the reasons why, despite it all, South Africa would seek a leadership position in abolishing "global apartheid." Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR