The Apartheid Regime by 1978

Question 1

How did the regime feel in 1978?

Answer 1

• Did not feel like they were in as strong a position as they seemed

Question 2

How was the regime doing economically by 1978?

Answer 2

• Stable ability to mine and sell gold
• International economic crisis made it strong

Question 3

Was the regime really affected by opposition groups in 1978?

Answer 3

• Long since imprisonment of key leaders of ANC and PAC
• Their militant wings were in exile or in hiding
• Militant wings did not have sufficient resources to threaten it with an armed struggle

Question 4

What was the ‘laager’ mentality?

Answer 4

• Self-reliance
• Mindset of unity
• Convincing themselves that they did not need external help

Question 5

What happened to South Africa in terms of international sport?

Answer 5

• Banned from international competition (e.g. excluded from the Olympics) during apartheid due to segregational policies

Question 6

Why was it a major blow for the South Africans to be banned from sport?

Answer 6

• Love sport, part of their pride
• Very good at it
• Attended major events to prove their ability and to win medals and trophies
• Added to Whites’ frustration over international exclusion

Question 7

In what ways did the regime feel threatened?

Answer 7

• Believed in a communist plot to overthrow the state
• Threats on South Africa’s borders as a result of the decolonisation of Angola and Mozambique
• Internal threats from underground members of ANC and PAC