Resumen

BRITS, J.P.. Thabo Mbeki and the Afrikaners, 1986-2004. Historia [online]. 2008, vol.53, n.2, pp.33-69. ISSN 2309-8392.

Thabo Mbeki's clandestine contacts from 1985 to 1990 with influential individuals and groups of "establishment" Afrikaners, notably the envoys to Britain, largely facilitated formal negotiations between the NP government and the ANC, culminating in the transition to democracy in 1994. He was also instrumental in negotiating an agreement with Constand Viljoen, thereby preventing a possible insurrection from the Afrikaner rightwing. While demonstrating sympathy with Afrikaners' sentiments of self-determination, he firmly rejected an ethnic Afrikaner state (volkstaat) as envisaged by right-wing Afrikaners. Talking to various organised Afrikaner groups, Mbeki impressed with his intellect and willingness to listen to their concerns. He showed understanding of their fears and aspirations, and Afrikaners assumed that Mbeki would provide leverage for Afrikaners to live their ideals, notably the protection of the Afrikaans language and Afrikaans educational institutions. However, Afrikaners in due course became impatient with Mbeki's apparent inertia to implement practical measures to protect their rights. Although talks with him continued, by the early 2000s doubts about Mbeki's resolve to translate words into action had become pervasive among Afrikaners.

Palabras clave : African National Congress; Africanist; Afrikaans culture; Constand Viljoen; discussions in Britain; far-right Afrikaners; liberal Afrikaners; National Intelligence Service; National Party; Niel Barnard; rapprochement; right-wing Afrikaners; self-determination; Thabo Mbeki; verligte Afrikaners; volkstaat; Willie Esterhuyse.

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