ABSTRACT DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Nwobu, Ogugua E. BA, Eastern Washington University. 1982 MA, Lincoln University of Missouri, 1984 THE ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS IN AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD SOUTH AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF SOUTH AFRICAN TRANSITION FROM APARTHEID TO DEMOCRACY AND CONGRESSIONAL PARTICIPATION (1 980-1995) Advisor: Professor R. Benneson Dejanes Dissertation dated December 2009 The United States Constitution divides the authority over U S. foreign affairs between the President and Congress. Both institutions, the executive and legislative, share in the making of foreign policy and each plays important roles that are different but often overlap. The United States Congress (House of Representatives and Senate), regarded as the tribune of the people, has often been a sounding board for popular discontent and malaise over some controversial foreign policies such as the Vietnam War, Iran Contra and South Africa. Since the 1960s the U. S. Congress has often dra strength from its discontent with the executive branch to assert a stronger role in American foreign policy. This dissatisfaction with the executive branch often come as a result of arrogation of certain powers in the American foreign affairs by the President. This study examines one 1 ©2009 OGUGUA E. NWOBU All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Any work of this capacity could never materialize without the quality guidance of distinguished professors Dr. R. Benneson Dejanes, Dr. Hashin Gibrill, and Dr. Henry A. Elonge who constituted my Dissertation Committee, and Dr. Abi Awolomo, the mentor. In my heart, they remain the true recipients of my future professional glories. For their patience, and hard work, my typist Ms. Jacqui Jackson, and editor Miss Gwen Johnson, no doubt earned my deepest appreciation. Above all, I owe a lot to my wife, Chinyelu, whose support, as the task wound to a successful conclusion, is immeasurable. This project is dedicated to the memory of my parents, Chief Benson and Mrs. Mabel Nwobu, who did not live to see the promise I made to them before leaving Nigeria finally fulfilled. jr’ _•_••__••I i .TABLE OF CONTFN1’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii LiST OF TABLES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii Chapter L INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem 6 Objective of the Study 11 Significance of the Study 11 Theoretical Framework 12 Research Method and Data Source 16 Limitation of Study 18 Literature Review and Bibliographical Essay 18 Organizational Outline 26 2. TRANSITION OF SOUTH AFRICA: A HISTORICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF SOUTH AFRICAN TRANSITION (1948-1994) 28 Apartheid Years (1948-1978) 28 Liberation Struggles and Abolition of Apartheid 32 The United States and South African Relations 35 3. EXTERNAL ACTORS IN SOUTH AFRICAN LIBERATION STRUGGLE 48 United Nations 48 III Great Britain .52 The Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Liberation of South Africa 54 ‘the Nigerian Factor 59 African National Congress (ANC) 67 Internal Actors 69 Sullivan Principles 70 American Public Pressure on Congress 71 Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) 74 TransAfrica’s Role 78 4. CONGRESSIONAL ACTIONS AND REACTIONS 88 Congressional Role in Foreign Policy 88 Congressional Involvement 90 The Road to Sanctions 93 Congressional Sanctions Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act (CAAA) 97 Passage of the CAAA 98 Sanctions Debate in Congress 101 The Senate Action 108 Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, in context 115 Critical Review of the CAAA 122 Analysis of Senate CAAA Votes 131 5. CONSEQUENCES AND RESULTS OF AMERICAN POLICY TOWARD SOUTH AFRICA IN CONTEXT OF SOUTH AFRICAN ‘tRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY .138 Effects of Sanctions 144 6. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 153 7. LSIT FO GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS 162 APPENDIX A. The Principal Apartheid Laws 163 B. African National Congress — The Freedom Charter 166 C. Congressional Letter to South African Ambassador 171 D. Summary of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 174 E. Outside Resources 191 BIBLIOGRAPHY 194 V LIST ()[ TABI ES lahie Page I. ‘I’otal Population and Percentage of South Africans by Race as Designated in Census 3 2. Nigeria’s Export to Some Western Countries Total Value and Percentage of Oil Exports 64 3. Public Opinion on American Attitudes Toward South Africa 4.1.Public Opinion on Whether the United States Should Pivssure South African Government 81 4.2.Arnerican Sympathies on South African Blacks 83 4.3.Public Opinion on How Reagan was Handling the Situation in South Africa 85 5. Differences Between the Executive and Legislative Branches on South African Policy 93 6. American Population by Race and Senators Who Voted Against CAAA (PL 99-440) 133 7. Government Economic Sanctions Against South Africa, 1986 147 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AID Agency of International Development ALC African Liberation Committee ANC African National Congress ARMSCOR Armaments Development and Production Corporation AZAPO Azanian People’s Organization BCP Black Community Programmes BLS Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland BPC Black People’s Convention CUSA Council of Unions of South Africa ECA Economic Commission for Africa EEC European Economic Community ESCOM Electricity Supply Commission FNLA National Front for the Liberation of Angola FOSATU Federation of South African Trade Unions FRELIMO Front for the Liberation of Mozambique ISCOR South African Iron and Steel Industrial Corporation MPLA Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola NSSM 39 National Security Study of Memorandum 39 OAU Organization of African Unity OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries PAC Pan African Congress PFP Progressive Federal Party SACU Southern African Customs Union SADCC Southern African Development Coordination Conference SADF South African Defense Force SAP Southern African Police SASM South African Students’ Movement SASO South African Students’ Organization SASOL South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation SOEKOR Southern Oil Exploration Corporation SWAPO South-West African People’s Organization TUCSA Trade Union Council of South Africa UNITA National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union ZAPIJ Zimbabwe African People’s Union VII CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Events have demonstrated that foreign policy initiatives, particularly long-term initiatives, cannot succeed without public support. Due to the fact that members of Congress represent local constituencies, they often tend to be more sensitive to the undercurrents and shifts in public opinions as was the case with American policy toward South Africa during the period 1980-1995. If all politics, as some political scientists have argued, are local, Congress could thus be referred to as an early warning system cautioning that contemplated or on-going executive actions may lack popular backing of the American people. President Reagan’s policy of constructive engagement with apartheid South Africa was an example of an unpopular policy. In order to fully and adequately explore the role that the Congress and other actors played in South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy, it is imperative that the study is preceded with brief background information regarding the problem under investigation. The core study of South Africa’s transition will be dealt with in subsequent chapters. South Africa is a country with an abundance of natural resources including fertile farmland and unique mineral resources. South African mines are world-leading 1 2 producers of diamonds and gold, as well as strategic metals such as platinum. The climate, according to observers, is mild and resembles San Francisco Bay area weather more than anywhere in the world. The English and Dutch colonized South Africa in the Seventeenth Century. The English domination of the Dutch descendants, kiown as the Boers or Afrikaners, resulted in the establishment of new colonies of Orange Free States and ‘l’ransvaal. After 1870, the rate of change in many parts of Southern Africa accelerated dramatically under the impact of both external and internal forces. The peak of British imperialism coincided with the identification and exploitation of prolific deposits of diamonds and gold in the Southern African interior, thereby sparking the Boer Wars. As Leonard Thompson noted, following the independence from England on May 31, 1910, an uneasy power sharing arrangement between the two groups continued into the 1 940s, when the Afrikaner National Party was able to get a strong majority in the government. After that, the political architects and strategists in the National Party invented “apartheid” as a means of cementing their control over the economic and social systems of the country.’ Initially, the aim was to maintain a stronghold on white economic and political2domination, while entrenching racial separation in the social psyche of the nation. With the enactment of apartheid laws, in 1948, racial discrimination was formally institutionalized. Race laws, no doubt, touched every aspect of South African social life. In 1950, the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially 3rd 1 Leonard Thompson, A History of South Afi1c, edition (New Haven, Yale University Press. 2001) pp 110-120. 2 Kevin Danaher, The Political Economy of U. S. Policy Toward South Africa (Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press, 1985). 3 classilied into one of three categories: Black (African), White, or Coloured (of mixed descent). As ‘Fable I shows, South Africa’s population, in 1960, was 16 million. Of thcsc, there were 10.9 million Africans (68.3%), 3.1 million Whites (19.3%), 1.5 million coloured (9.4%), 0.5 million Indians (3%), and 0.4 million Asians (3%). ‘Fable 1. Total Population and Percentage by Race as Designated in Census Total Year Population Percentage by Race (Millions) White Coloured Asian African 1904 5,174,827 21.6 8.6 2.4 67.4 1911 5,972,757 21.4 8.8 2.5 67.7 1921 6,927,403 21.9 7.9 2.4 67.8 1936 9,587,863 20.9 8.0 2.3 68.8 1946 11,415,925 20.8 8.1 2.5 68.6 1951 12,671,452 20.9 8.7 2.9 67.5 1960 16,002,797 19.3 9.4 3.0 68.3 1970 21,794,328 17.3 9.4 2.9 70.4 1980 28,979,035 15.7 9.1 2.8 72.4 1991 38,268,720 13.2 8.6 2.6 75.6 1996 40,583,573 10.9 8.9 2.6 76.7% Source: www.statssa.gov.zalcensus.