South Africa's transition to democracy earned its place among the 'miracles
' of the twentieth century. The transition not only symbolised the end of a
protracted struggle against apartheid but also ushered in a new era of the
reconstruction of state and society. My intention in this paper is to anal
yse the reconstruction of the post-apartheid state in South Africa against
the backdrop of the post-colonial state in Africa. The paper focuses on ter
ritorial restructuring and nation-building as some of the main challenges f
acing the new polity. Such challenges, I argue, are not unique to South Afr
ica, but are a familiar feature of the post-colony on the continent. Howeve
r, South Africa faces those challenges against a pessimistic record of its
counterparts in Africa, and under different circumstances. Notwithstanding
that pessimism, the question that is central to the analysis presented here
is how South Africa has responded to challenges of territorial restructuri
ng and nation-building. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.