Author Description

Southern Rhodesia became virtually self-governing in domestic affairs in 1923, when political power was transferred to an electorate consisting almost wholly of Europeans. Until the 2nd World War the country seemed to be drawing steadily closer to South Africa in political sentiment; and it was the belief that this trend had been reversed which made possible the formation, in 1953, of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, in which Southern Rhodesia's relatively well-developed institutions now exercise a very strong influence. This book describes the social and economic foundations of European immigration, the structure of government, pressure groups and parties; and the electoral system and franchise. It also analyses the ideas which govern European political life; and it suggests a general theory of Southern Rhodesia's political evolution which challenges some of the assumptions on which the Federation was founded.