A Comparative Evaluation of the Armed Struggle in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe

The end of apartheid in South Africa marked the end of the armed struggle in Southern Africa, a struggle that accounted for the transformation of five countries in the region. The objective of this study is to examine the armed struggle in three of these countries - Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Although the nature of the historical evolution of these countries made them to be different from the Lusophone territories of Angola and Mozambique, there were significant differences in the ways the armed struggle was conducted in each. Areas of convergence and divergence in the armed struggle are identified as well as those areas where the armed struggle left lasting legacies.