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THE JIMMY CARTER AND RONALD REAGAN ADMINISTRATIONS' POLICIES TOWARD APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA: DIVERGING RHETORIC, CONVERGING ACTIONS

The case scrutinized in this paper is that of the American approach to systemized racial segregation, most commonly known as the South African system of apartheid, under the administrations of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. More specifically, the article is built as a comparative study of both presidencies’ respective anti-apartheid approaches. What is noted in that regard is that the different language used by both presidents not only produced expectations of a diverging plan of action, but also generated a generally positive historical verdict on Carter’s policy in South Africa and a quite different profile of the policy of his successor. In opposition to that perspective, this article intends to demonstrate that the obvious divergence in rhetoric between Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and their foreign policy aids hides striking similarities in practice and clearly converging approaches to diverse issues relating to the official American attitude toward that internationally recognized moral evil. What is also argued is that what characterized the Carter and the Reagan administrations alike was a clear absence of a concrete desire to end an infamous episode of racial injustices that drew worldwide attention and activism for several decades.