Margo and Martin Russell. Afrikaners of
the Kalahari- White Minority in a Black State
African Trade Series 24, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1979. 167 Pp. P21.00
This book offers an attitude study of the Afrikaner people
that have established themselves since 1898 on the Ghanzi
ridge in the Western Kalahari of Botswana.         In their reaction
to their integration into a black majority-ruled         state, the
authors hope to find "portents for the process of change in
Southern Africa as well as grist for the mills of sociologi-
cal theories of race relations"        (p. 7).
The main strength of the book lies in its descriptive quality,
often supported by detailed historical, socio-economic
research, which is especially evident in the first 4 chapters.
Thus in the first chapter a clear and realistic description of
Ghanzi Camp with its different population groups is given.
Chapter 2 and 3 give a detailed survey of the historico-
economic development of the Ghanzi Block; Chapter 2 explains
the motives both of the Afrikaners that trekked to Ghanzi and
of the B.A. Company, to make them settle there.          In the same
chapter their specific trekker-economy,        characteristic  of
their first 40 years in Ghanzi, is described.
In Chapter 3 the gradual introduction of the Afrikaners into
the cash economy is followed from the arrival of the first
trader with a truck to the final event: the upswing of beef
pr ices coir.cidincrwi th Independence.
In Chapter 4 the authors introduce the readers into the houses
of the Afrikaners and into the way their domestic lives are
arranged, with a high degree of adaptation to the environment.
Although descriptive passages and relevant historical data
continue to appear in the other chapters, some confusion is
caused by a weak theoretical framework.
In Chapter 5 the authors define the identity of the Afrikaners
as they found them at the time of their fieldwork in 1973.
Their identity is determined by four key criteria: language,
physical appearance, biological descent and religion.          In
addition to these criteria is a residual category of cultural
features, which are recognised as transi.€nt.
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Th~ va~idity of the,non-transitory   character of the key-
cr1ter1a, however, 1S doubtful because of certain contradic-
tory developments   in the past which are described by the
authors.   In fact the authors confirm this when they say:
"It is through their social relationships with non-Afrikaners
that the group's sense of identity acquires content as well
as form" (p. 75).    This means that identity is not something
static as originally stated by the authors but that it is
governed by social relationships which may change from time
to time.
The reader  is left with this inconsistency.
The lack of a clear theoretical framework also becomes evident
in Chapter 6, which contains a subjective interpre~~ation of
the relations between Afrikaners and Bushmen, changing over
the years because of political and economic pressure.
The present incorporation of the Bushmen into the cash
economy is considered to be a loss for the Bushmen because it
reduces the previous clientship relations.    It may be true
that clientship has been a central feature of inter-ethnic
relations in Botswana for at least two centuries, but that on
its Own does not justify it.
Another weakness appears in Chapter 7 dedicated to the
Afrikaner attitudes to sharing their religion with the Bush-
men.   The authors suggest that a study of the attitudes of
the Gereformeerde Afrikaners in Ghanzi in this regard,
exemplifies the dilemmas, conflicts and tensions which
characterise confrontations between settlers and missionaries.
However,  an analysis of the potentially different pattern of
reaction  of the other protestant denomination in Ghanzi is
lacking.
Chapter 8, which describes the pragmatism of the deferential
Afrikaner attitude to the administration, be it British or
Tswana, and their sensitivity to groups and sub-groups, ends
with a rather unseemly generalisation: "It remains to be seen
whether the traditional Tswana acknowledgement of loyalty
can be broadened to embrace a traditional enemy (p. 134).
The point that the Tswana might consider the Afrikaner from
Ghanzi their traditional enemy has not been argued and attri-
buting this attitude to the Tswana indicates a bias on the
side of the authors.
Although there is a treasure of historical and economic data
in this book, these data are not part of the interpretative
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structure of the book.   This leads   to i.nconsistencies, which
the authors try to overcome by bringing up sociological
theories.
In Chapter 9 for example they present P. Van den Berghe's
theory on democratic pluralism, in the framework of which
they try to force their collected data. The authors thereby
overlook the fact that Van de Berghe's theory applies to
societies as a whole, and that the data they collected only
concern a region of Botswana, which is not typical for
Botswana as a whole.   The book thus lacks a coherent under-
standing of the national situation and, by implication, of
the Afrikaner attitude and the changes it has undergone.
In summary it can be said that the book contains a great
deal of interesting information, vividly presented, but
that its theory is rather shaky.
It may be possible to find grist for the mills of sociologi-
cal theories of race relations in the book, but the book
does not achieve its major aim "to find portents for the
process of change in Southern Africa".
                         THEA DE JAGER
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