Prenegotiation in South Africa (1985-1993) : a phaseological analysis of the transitional negotiations

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The perception exists that the South African transitional negotiations were initiated byevents during 1990. This study challenges such a perception and argues that prior toformal contact there existed a crucial period of informal bargaining. This period, knownas prenegotiation, saw members of the National Party government and the AfricanNational Congress (ANC) attempt to communicate in order to gauge the possibility of anegotiated settlement. By utilising a phaseological approach to bargaining/negotiation,this study analyses the transition in order to ascertain the structure and functions ofSouth African prenegotiation. The following three negotiation phases are identified:bargaining about bargaining, preliminary bargaining and substantive bargaining. Bothof the first two phases are regarded as part of prenegotiation.This study argues that the first phase started as early as 1985 under conditions ofimmense secrecy and stayed that way until its conclusion in 1990. Three differentavenues of communication were established during this time. The first avenue existedbetween government officials and the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Regular meetingswere held in an attempt to create an understanding of what was needed to normaliseSouth African politics. The second avenue operated mostly on international soil,through intermediaries, and became an indirect channel of communication betweenexiled ANC officials and officials in the government's National Intelligence Service.The third avenue consisted of independent efforts by extra-governmental role-players toestablish communication with the exiled ANC leadership. All three avenues impacteddifferently on the negotiation process, yet all are regarded as part of the bargainingabout bargaining phase.The second phase was initiated by F.W. de Klerk's opening of parliament speech in1990. In this phase new negotiators came to the fore and it signified an ongoing attemptby the government and the ANC to establish a contract zone for substantive bargaining.Prominent agreements included the Groote Schuur Minute, the Pretoria Minute, the D.F.Malan Accord and the National Peace Accord. The establishment of a multi-partynegotiating forum, Codesa, ended preliminary bargaining, but only temporarily. Afterdeadlock occurred in May 1992 it became necessary to revert back to prenegotiationissues before further progress could be made. The bilateral discussions that ensuedbetween the government and the ANC saw the most prominent bargaining relationshipsof the transition develop, notably between Roelf Meyer and Cyril Ramaphosa, andbetween Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk. With the signing of the Record ofUnderstanding and the establishment of the Multi-P~ Negotiating Process ·m1993,~ ,--· .. . ~ ~-- prenegotiation came to an end.In focussing primarily on prenegotiation, this study attempts both to refine existingprenegotiation theory and to identify possible recommendations for other deeplydivided societies. For the success of a negotiation process it is an imperative that lastinggood faith and a workable contract zone are established prior to any form of substantivebargaining.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University