I was listening to Ladysmith Black Mambazo yesterday and one of their songs affected me in particular. Halala South Africa congratulates the group's home country on its transition to democracy. In amongst the powerful lyrics is a reference to Nelson Mandela's lengthy and moving autobiography: Long Walk to Freedom. It suddenly struck me just how extraordinary an achievement the end of the apartheid regime must have seemed both to those directly involved in the struggle for freedom and worldwide observers. Just a few years previously it must have seemed impossible for the regime which had been propped up by both the British and American governments to have fallen.
So what changed? The answer lies in the worldwide events of the time: the fall of the Soviet Union and, with it, the end of the Cold War meant that support for 'capitalist-friendly' abusive regimes such as that of South Africa was no longer so appealing. Something similar occurred for dictatorial regimes in Argentina, Brazil and Chile which had also been propped up both overtly and covertly by the Western side of the Iron Curtain.
This story should give hope to those today who feel like they are swimming up a waterfall. When I speak to people who have either studied or been directly involved in the Israeli-Palestine conflict there is an overwhelming sense of pessimism about the future. The largest source of this pessimism is American and global economic support for the Israeli government in all actions they wish to undertake. While I would not wish to say the two situations are the same: South Africa was one country with a brutal regime which needed toppling entirely; Israel and Palestine are two separate nations at almost complete loggerheads, with one enacting terror over the other through administrative and economic control. However, should American support for Israel ever falter due to some international event comparable to the end of the Cold War, I have no doubt that the nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would change dramatically, with both sides much more willing to co-operate if a resolution seemed more likely.
So what changed? The answer lies in the worldwide events of the time: the fall of the Soviet Union and, with it, the end of the Cold War meant that support for 'capitalist-friendly' abusive regimes such as that of South Africa was no longer so appealing. Something similar occurred for dictatorial regimes in Argentina, Brazil and Chile which had also been propped up both overtly and covertly by the Western side of the Iron Curtain.
This story should give hope to those today who feel like they are swimming up a waterfall. When I speak to people who have either studied or been directly involved in the Israeli-Palestine conflict there is an overwhelming sense of pessimism about the future. The largest source of this pessimism is American and global economic support for the Israeli government in all actions they wish to undertake. While I would not wish to say the two situations are the same: South Africa was one country with a brutal regime which needed toppling entirely; Israel and Palestine are two separate nations at almost complete loggerheads, with one enacting terror over the other through administrative and economic control. However, should American support for Israel ever falter due to some international event comparable to the end of the Cold War, I have no doubt that the nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would change dramatically, with both sides much more willing to co-operate if a resolution seemed more likely.
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