Separating races through legal and institutional means, including separate residences, schools, social facilities, political structures and job access.
The requirement of this strategy arose out of the history of colonialism and violent interracial conflict in Southern Africa. The need for the application of this strategy as government policy in South Africa increased with the urbanization of the country in its more recent stages of economic development. In other parts of the continent, the state employed the strategy to ensure stability and continuity in the development process.
The state enforces residential separation, provides separate schools and regulates social and socio-sexual conduct to contain ethnic groups within social, political and economic boundaries designed by the state. Within South Africa, the state promotes the foundation of separate nations for indigenous ethnic groups. The state also applies the strategy in an attempt to segregate non-indigenous groups under the classifications of "coloured" and "Asiatic".
The strategy has been most effective in the economic development of South Africa. That nation stands almost alone as an economic power on the continent.
The apartheid policy has resulted in the conveyance of nationhood to Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and Namibia. South African resources continue to be applied to the development of these new nations. The continuity of the policy, therefore, promotes the creation and development of viable new nations in Africa.
Encouraging cultural or ethnic groups to retain their identity is the South African official rationale for this strategy. Its official objective is to ensure peaceful coexistence.
The strategy, when used as a government policy, legalizes repressive artificial restraints on social intercourse and economic development.
Modern political history points to continuing violent reaction to such repression. The adoption of this strategy by a state thus provides an historical precondition to revolution.