How negotiated peace in underdeveloped countries results in structural violence: Healing memories in South Africa

Abstract

This article focuses on the South African massacres that took place between 1960 and 1994 to stimulate a global mentality about what led to peace in South Africa. It discusses the role of the superpower in peacebuilding in South Africa. In 1986, four cardinal points led to negotiations and the release of political prisoners. The article also discusses the peace negotiation that occurred prior to the April 1994 election. It also addresses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a vehicle for healing memories. The thesis is that peacebuilding ought to be holistic, in order to avoid structural violence. The proposal for a solution to South Africa’s structural violence is the establishment of a universal income grant for the middle class and the poor, in order to curb poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The article uses political theology as its framework, based on restorative justice.