The Anxieties of White Supremacy - Hendrik Verwoerd and the Apartheid Mindset

Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd (1958-1966) is widely regarded as the mastermind of apartheid in South Africa. This study examines how he developed the ideology of racial separation into a comprehensive system. It also looks into Verwoerd's intellectual development and his academic career before he entered politics. Apartheid was to Verwoerd less a defense of colonialism but a policy for the future, he was an authoritarian modernizer and a true representative of the Age of Extremes.

About the author

Christoph Marx, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany.

Summary

Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd (1958–1966) is widely regarded as the mastermind of apartheid in South Africa. This study examines how he developed the ideology of racial separation into a comprehensive system. It also looks into Verwoerd’s intellectual development and his academic career before he entered politics. Apartheid was to Verwoerd less a defense of colonialism but a policy for the future, he was an authoritarian modernizer and a true representative of the Age of Extremes.

Report

"Marx's meticulous analysis of Verwoerd's scientific oeuvre reveals fascinating insights into the politician's mindset - his notion of an absolute truth that could be established once and for all through scientific means, his dismissal of emotions, and his uncompromising dogmatism" - Julia Tischler (Universität Basel ) in H-Soz-Kult (19.12.2024), https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-94648.
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"Dem Autor ist ein wichtiger Beitrag zur Geschichte der Apartheid gelungen, deren Ursprünge jetzt genauer geklärt werden müssen." - Eberhard Zimmermann in Das Historisch-Politische Buch 71 (2023) 3-4, 490

Product details

• Authors: Christoph Marx
• Assisted by: Ulrike Kistner (Translation)
• Publisher: Oldenbourg
• Original title: Trennung und Angst. Hendrik Verwoerd und die Gedankenwelt der Apartheid
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 30.06.2025
• EAN: 9783112214169
• ISBN: 978-3-11-221416-9
• No. of pages: 580
• Series: Africa in Global History
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Internationale Beziehungen, Apartheid, Rassismus, Ideengeschichte, History of Ideas, International Relations, Racism, auseinandersetzen, Decolonization, HIS000000 HISTORY / General, Dekolonialisierung, HIS037030 HISTORY / Modern / General, HIS037070 HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century, HIS001000 HISTORY / Africa / General, HIS037000 HISTORY / World