Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1976- (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The bulk of this collection dates from the period in the history of Namibia (formerly South West Africa) after 1977 when the UN, the Western Contact Group (including France, West Germany, Canda, the United States and Great Britain) and the front-line states increasingly sought to bring about a resolution to the ongoing struggle between SWAPO and apartheid South Africa's armed forces in the country. Thus the materials can be roughly divided into those emanating from groups representing the German-speaking minority, such as the Interessengemeinschaft Deutschsprachiger Südwester (IG), and those campaigning on behalf of organisations opposed to South African rule, like the Namibia Support Committee and the SWAPO Women's Solidarity Campaign. Both sought to interpret and influence the discussions as they progressed. Some of the items are particularly interesting for the connections drawn between uranium mining in Namibia and the 1984 miners' strike in Great Britain.
Repository
Archival history
The Commonwealth Political Parties Materials collection was begun in 1960-61, with special emphasis being placed then, as now, on 'primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos.' (ICS, Twelfth Annual Report 1960-1961). Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant.
GB 0101 PG.SX 1976- Collection (Fonds) 1 box Institute of Commonwealth Studies
The bulk of this collection dates from the period in the history of Namibia (formerly South West Africa) after 1977 when the UN, the Western Contact Group (including France, West Germany, Canda, the United States and Great Britain) and the front-line states increasingly sought to bring about a resolution to the ongoing struggle between SWAPO and apartheid South Africa's armed forces in the country. Thus the materials can be roughly divided into those emanating from groups representing the German-speaking minority, such as the Interessengemeinschaft Deutschsprachiger Südwester (IG), and those campaigning on behalf of organisations opposed to South African rule, like the Namibia Support Committee and the SWAPO Women's Solidarity Campaign. Both sought to interpret and influence the discussions as they progressed. Some of the items are particularly interesting for the connections drawn between uranium mining in Namibia and the 1984 miners' strike in Great Britain.
The Commonwealth Political Parties Materials collection was begun in 1960-61, with special emphasis being placed then, as now, on 'primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos.' (ICS, Twelfth Annual Report 1960-1961). Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant.
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Pamphlets, leaflets, manifestos, conference reports, histories, speeches, appeals, letters and newsletters, 1976 onwards, issued by Afrikaans-Duitse Kultuurunie (Namibia), the Campaign Against the Namibian Uranium Contracts, Interessengemeinschaft Deutschsprachiger Südwester, the Namibia Support Committee, the South West Africa Volunteer Enterprise, the SWA/Namibia Information Service and the SWAPO Women's Solidarity Campaign.
Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.
Alphabetically by group, and then in rough chronological order.
Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.
Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.
English and German.
Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)
See also Namibia: Political Parties Material (PP.SX), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.
Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Created 07/06/2004 AIM25 Fuels Groups Interest groups Language minorities Language policy Metals Migrants Namibia Nuclear fuels Political science Politics Refugees Sex Sex distribution South Africa Southern Africa Uranium Women Inorganic chemicals Chemicals
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Pamphlets, leaflets, manifestos, conference reports, histories, speeches, appeals, letters and newsletters, 1976 onwards, issued by Afrikaans-Duitse Kultuurunie (Namibia), the Campaign Against the Namibian Uranium Contracts, Interessengemeinschaft Deutschsprachiger Südwester, the Namibia Support Committee, the South West Africa Volunteer Enterprise, the SWA/Namibia Information Service and the SWAPO Women's Solidarity Campaign.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.
System of arrangement
Alphabetically by group, and then in rough chronological order.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English and German.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
See also Namibia: Political Parties Material (PP.SX), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English