“President FW de Klerk’s speech at the opening of the South African parliament in Cape Town on 2 February 1990 signalled a turning point in the struggle for democracy in South Africa. On this day, President De Klerk lifted the ban on the major anti-apartheid organisations, undertook to release Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, and declared the door to negotiations open” (Arnold, 1992:1; Sisk, 1995:56)



In the context of the above background, investigate the following research question:

How did South Africa emerge as a democracy from the crises of the 1990s?

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