IN WHITEST AFRICA: The Dynamics of Apartheid

The author, a prizewinning journalist who has written about the U.N. and arms control, describes South African apartheid briefly and anecdotally. Historical, legal and sociological aspects receive far less--and less effective--treatment than in other recent books on the subject (by Douglas Brown, John Laurence). Frye's concern is with the probability, which he arguably exaggerates, that the present system will soon be threatened by a Communist-fueled revolution, unless its inhumanities and inequities are ameliorated. The most interesting part of the book outlines the stringent measures by which outside powers might force prophylactic reforms. Some are naive or careless: the discussion of pressure from gold-buyers ignores the counterpressures available to the South African regime. The proposal that U.S.-owned businesses insist on fair labor practices overlooks the fact that the absence of such cost-raisers is a major lure of American capital in the first place. Other possibilities range from anti-apartheid messages on the Voice of America to economic sanctions. Frye's analysis of U.N. positions and the Anglo-American stakes in South Africa which make sanctions unlikely constitutes the most worthwhile part of a generally inferior, Sunday-supplementish essay.