Bridging The Rift

As a post-apartheid future is constructed in South Africa and as the old political and economic barriers with the rest of the continent crumble, it is probable that there will be a sustained increase in political and economic interaction between the hobbled leviathan of the South and its neighbors. In this volume, contributors explore to what extent this process will enhance or constrain prospects for political and economic development in the rest of the region and the continent, discuss who are likely to be the main agents and beneficiaries of this expanded interchange, and examine the security consequences, broadly conceived, that might result. }Despite the lingering effects of more than a decade of sanctions and economic stagnation, South Africa retains the most powerful, industrialized, and diversified economy in sub-Saharan Africa. Today, as a post-apartheid future is constructed and as the old political and economic barriers with the rest of the continent crumble, it is probable that there will be a sustained increase in political and economic interaction between the hobbled leviathan of the South and its neighbors. What repercussions will follow from this process? To what extent will it enhance or constrain prospects for political and economic development in the rest of the region? Who will be the main agents and beneficiaries of this expanded interchange? What security consequences, broadly conceived, will result? In this volume, contributors explore these issues by carefully situating their analyses within the twin contexts of a changing world order and the demands for South Africacentered reconstruction and development. }