Reappraising the Life and Legacy of Jan C. Smuts
In this book, the authors cover both familiar and unfamiliar themes. One of the principal themes running throughout the book addresses head-on the deficiency in the literature highlighted by Saul Dubow, namely, the question of racism and Smuts’s reluctance to implement ‘native’ policies that may have averted future problems, rather than postpone them. We see throughout, a gap between the rhetoric and policy, and between policy and practice in its implementation. Amongst the familiar themes that are reappraised, are Smuts’s successes and failures in policies and leadership, domestically and internationally.
‘This wide-ranging volume re-evaluates myriad aspects of Smuts’ life, philosophy, political career and legacy. An important and timely book exploring one of South Africa’s most consequential and controversial leaders.’ Luc-Andre Brunet – Contemporary International History, The Open University.
The book is a great contribution to South African cultural and social history. With the military element covered in other publications, the editors and authors have focussed on the less well-trodden aspects of Smuts’s history including but not limited to discussions on the atomic bomb, counter-revolution, film, early cabinets, racialism, trusteeship, ‘greatness’, political philosophy, racial segregation, and myth-making. The editors have skilfully continued the longer political discussion, reflecting on the myth and legacy of a prominent South African - Smuts. Antonio Garcia, Stellenbosch University, coauthor of Botha, Smuts and the First World War, co-founder Underground Strategy.
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Chapters
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Series Foreword
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IntroductionThe enigmatic Smuts
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1. ‘Is freedom really worth this much?’Smuts, De la Rey, and rethinking grand narratives in the film Verraaiers (Traitors)
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2. Jan Smuts and the World Counter‑Revolution 1917-1923
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3. The Making of a MythGeneral Smuts and the Miners of South Wales
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4. First MinistersJan Smuts and Cabinet Government in the Early Union of South Africa
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5. Discovering General Smuts through the Lens of World War I in AfricaA Bibliographical Exploration
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6. Illusions of Sovereignty with Postcolonial GovernmentalityJan Smuts, Trusteeship, and the League of Nations
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7. Jan Smuts and his ‘Sphinx’ Problem
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8. Smuts and the Politics of SegregationThe Prosecution of Pass Laws Under the United Party Government
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9. Jan Smuts, Alfred Xuma, and the Struggle for Racial Equality in South Africa, 1939-1948
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10. Smuts: Afraid of Greatness
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11. Smuts, Holism, and Political Philosophy
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12. Father of holismThe intellectual legacy of Jan Smuts
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13. Jan Smuts and the Atomic Bomb
References
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