Summary

In this analysis of South Africa's post-apartheid security system, the author argues that, despite South Africa's manipulation of state structures and elites in the region for its own ends, the suffering endured under the apartheid regime drew southern Africa together at the popular level and that economic factors, such as the use of migrant labour, reinforced the process of integration. Exploring how the region is changing today - as transnational solidarity and a single regional economy remove the distinctions between national and internationl politics - he asks whether South African domination can finally be overcome and considers what sort of cosmopolitan political arrangement will be appropriate for the region in the new century.