CULTURAL RELATIONS BETWEEN SWITZERLAND AND APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

372pp., illus., paperback, Basler Afrika Bibliographien, Basel, 2025

ISBN: 9783906927749

This collection of essays examines how, between 1948 and 1994, Switzerland acted as an enabler of apartheid-era cultural life while other nations imposed cultural boycotts. The research covers jazz, classical music, architecture, theatre and literature, emphasising how culture was used to bypass international isolation.

The essays are derived in large part from the papers given at a conference held in Basel in May 2023, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and organised by the Basler Afrika Bibliographien in collaboration with the Bern Academy of the Arts and the Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel.

Stephanus Muller is Professor at Stellenbosch University and the Director of its Africa Open Institute.

Chris Walton is a research associate at the Bern Academy of the Arts and Honorary Professor at Africa Open Institute, Stellenbosch University.