The effect of the decisions which were taken by the representatives of the various European countries participating in the Berlin Conference of 1884, had far-reaching effects on the political and ...socio-economic development on the African continent during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The full extent of the effects of these decisions are comparable to what happened in Africa after 1948. Although comparable, the character of the two periods differed drastically from each other. The most significant difference was that the period after 1884 was initially characterised by colonisation, while the period after 1948 was marked by de-colonisation.The continued presence of the South African administration in Namibia had a ignificant influence on the outcome of political developments in the territory uring the period 1948 to 1989. This administration continued after the Second World War because the trusteeship system which had been set up by the United Nations (UN) in 1946 was not accepted by the South African Government. They had been administering the region in terms of a C-mandate which had been handed down by the League of Nations after the First World War. The consequence of this continued administration was that the diplomatic and political events in the territory were dominated by resistance in one form or another during the period 1948 to 1989. This resistance was offered by members of the indigenous resistance community who were opposed to the continued South African administration of Namibia which lasted until the gaining of Namibian independence in 1989.• One of the many diplomatic and political features which characterised the period from 1948 to 1989, and which had a distinct influence on the course of 2 events in Namibia included the implementation of the domestic South African policy of racial segregation. This policy was commonly referred to as apartheid. It was implemented in Namibia by the South African administration together with other restrictive legislation, which included the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 and the Riotous Assembly Act of 1956 as an attempt by the South African Government to control the outcome of all political developments in the region." In 1966, the UN terminated the mandate by which the South African Government was managing the territory. The unwillingness of the South African administration to divest itself from Namibia after the termination of this mandate gave impetus to the rise of popular indigenous resistance. This resistance was aimed at achieving both political recognition of the recently formed indigenous political parties and independence from South African administrative control. Although this administration ecognised the rise of African nationalism, it was not willing to recognise this ise in nationalism to the extent that it could result in the indigenous inhabitants of Namibia acquiring political power. This view of the South African administration also expedited the escalation in indigenous resistance and the formation of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), one of the many indigenous political parties in Namibia, which would play a leading role in offering popular Namibian resistance.A further example of growing popular Namibian resistance towards the South African administration can be highlighted in the manner in which Katjavivi (1988) refers to the South African administered elections of 1972 and 1973 as controlled elections.
