South Africa and Algeria

South Africa gained independence decades prior to the current period of study. Britain, once the colonial power, relinquished control to South Africans.
The population demographics are as follows: 20% white, 68% black, and a notable mixed-race and South Asian population.

Apartheid, meaning separateness, was fully established in 1948.
This period saw the entrenchment of white minority power and systematic deprivation of civil rights for the black majority.
Full segregation between black and white legal political segregation, all schools, inter marrige were banned and segregated as well as jobs, low wage jobs going to black majority full segregation in where they lived

in bantustans, like homelands for the black majority, by tribal affiliation 10 bantustans in total, tribal groups and chiefs were in charge of the stans, operated like reserves, very inadequate meant to be self sufficient but weren't. Not given enough land for the number of people living on them were very crowded
Legal, Political and Social Segregation:
- Segregation laws segregated schools and prohibited interracial marriage.
- Jobs were segregated; low-wage jobs were primarily held by the black majority, while skilled professions were dominated by the white minority.
- Living conditions were segregated, with the creation of Bantu stands, designated as homelands for the black majority, divided by tribal affiliations. There were approximately 10 Bantu stands, insufficiently sized and not self-sufficient, leading to overcrowding.
- Black majority is not happy and resisting it
  African national congress (ANC) formed in 1912 started as a respectable middle class organization to lobby for changes but doesn't work and getting more radical in their demands

The African National Congress (ANC), founded in 1912, initially focused on political lobbying but radicalized over the decades, especially post-1948.
1955 Alliance with the Communist Party: This alliance aimed to broaden support. The political climate intensified with the death of Stalin, paving the way for Soviet support of the ANC as Soviet interests grew in the Third World under Khrushchev.
1955 the ANC made an alliance with the communist party to try and broaden their support, in 1955 Stalin passed and Khrushchev was in power the soviet union was willing to support the ANC. The moment they made the alliance the US backed the white minority government because they didn't want communism to spread. The ANC is not a communist group, but the US thinks they are because of their alliance and cant allow that to happen.

The United States, wary of potential communist influence, chose to back the white minority government despite disapproval of apartheid due to their internal racial issues.
The three main strategic advantages of South Africa for the U.S. included:
1. Geographical Position: Key shipping routes, notably around Africa and the Suez Canal.
2. Mineral Wealth: Significant uranium reserves crucial for nuclear armaments.
3. Military Strength: South Africa possessed the strongest military in Africa at the time.

Black South Africans were required to carry passbooks to enter white areas or risk fines or imprisonment.
The oppressive pass laws became symbols of apartheid repression.

A peaceful protest against pass laws led to the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, where 69 black protesters were killed, further radicalizing the ANC towards armed resistance.
Nelson Mandela emerged as a leader advocating for a violent struggle, with plans to solicit guerrilla fighters across Africa.

The ANC's immense struggle against oppression and brutality propelled various leadership changes and tactics. Mandela was imprisoned in 1962, remaining in confinement until 1990, during which he pivoted to support peaceful protest.

Algeria was more than a mere colony; France regarded it as a part of the nation, comprising representatives in the National Assembly and a large settler population (Pied Noirs), approximately 1.3 million, or 10% of the population, controlling 80% of wealth.

Tensions escalated leading to the Sétif massacre (1945), spurring the war of independence from 1954 to 1962, led by the National Liberation Front (FLN).
The French retaliated against Algerian nationalists, resulting in devastating casualties: Algerian estimates range up to 45,000 killed while French records claim 6,000.

French military presence grew from 56,000 troops in 1954 to around 450,000 by 1956.
This period included significant violent clashes illustrated in the "Battle of Algiers" (1956-1957).

Various international actors provided support to the FLN, notably Egypt and the Soviet Union, which recognized the FLN as the legitimate government by the 1960s.
Arab nations' dissatisfaction with Western hegemony and military bases created fertile ground for FLN resistance while complicating Cold War dynamics.

The military's attempt to maintain control culminated in a coup in 1958, leading to Charles de Gaulle's reinstatement and eventual negotiations for independence.
As a result of referendums, Algeria gained formal independence in 1962, although the FLN faced internal challenges leading to a military coup in 1965, overthrowing them and establishing military rule.

The session's concluding remarks indicate a transition toward discussing Middle Eastern geopolitics, underlining the lingering discontent from maintained Western military bases and oil market control, as well as the philosophical clash between communism and Islam.