Visions of liberation: the Algerian war of independence and its South African reverberations

Abstract

The launch of South Africa's armed struggle has been portrayed as the action of urban-based South African Communist Party (SACP) and African National Congress (ANC) members; scholarly debates concern the relative importance of the SACP, ANC and the Soviet Union. Yet the Left was fluid and eclectic during this transitional period. Seeking new approaches and methods to address the rapidly evolving political environment, left-wing activists drew on political and personal contacts to build new underground networks. Their arguments came not from the Soviets but from the experiences of guerrilla struggles, such as Algeria's war of independence. They sought, unsuccessfully, to integrate insights from Algeria into their strategies.

African perspectives on just war

“…Indeed, he refrained from violence when the Apartheid regime decided to genuinely negotiate. On top of this, Mandela's goal in using violence was to force the Apartheid regime to sit at the table and negotiate (Drew, 2015). Mandela, in turn, was been largely influenced by Motsemai from the National Liberation Front (NFL), who advised Mandela on war strategy based on his own experience in the Algerian war (Drew, 2015).…”