Description
This book reconsiders the life of former South African Defense Minister, F.C. Erasmus. Although an architect of the Nationalists’ post-war election victory, he was not considered a minster of the first rank. Erasmus initiated a process of ridding the defense force of officers who he believed were associated with the government of Jan Smuts. Erasmus felt that the armed services had been too British in its ethos and appearance and wanted to create a force that was uniquely South African. However, without an immanent military threat, Erasmus never received a substantial budgetary allocation to modernize the military which left the military unable to assist the civil power in suppressing disturbances. Moreover, while Erasmus sought to cement South Africas relations with the West, he was unsuccessful in creating an anti-communist alliance for the land and maritime defense of Africa. This new biography looks at the events and time period that shaped this period of South African history in an attempt to correct misinterpretation of this period.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.