Military stalemate between MK and South African security forces [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Bilateral negotiations to end apartheid [ 4 ]. Several independent sectors of South African society opposed apartheid through various means, including social movements , passive resistance , and guerrilla warfare.
Mass action against the ruling National Party NP government, coupled with South Africa's growing international isolation and economic sanctions, were instrumental in leading to negotiations to end apartheid , which began formally in and ended with South Africa's first multiracial elections under a universal franchise in Apartheid was adopted as a formal South African government policy by the NP following their victory in the general election.
Some anti-apartheid demonstrations resulted in widespread rioting in Port Elizabeth and East London in , but organised destruction of property was not deliberately employed until Mass strikes and student demonstrations continued into the s, powered by growing black unemployment, the unpopularity of the South African Border War , and a newly assertive Black Consciousness Movement.
South Africa's military often retaliated by raiding ANC safe houses in neighbouring states. The NP made several attempts to reform the apartheid system, beginning with the Constitutional Referendum of This introduced the Tricameral Parliament , which allowed for some parliamentary representation of Coloureds and Indians , but continued to deny political rights to black South Africans.
Secret bilateral negotiations to end apartheid commenced in as the National Party reacted to increased external pressure and the atmosphere of political unrest. Although its creation predated apartheid, the African National Congress ANC became the primary force in opposition to the government after its moderate leadership was superseded by the organisation's more radical Youth League ANCYL in They proposed that white authority could only be overthrown through mass campaigns.
