Journal of Human Security

Abstract: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's death on 5 December 2013 and his funeral ten days later were taken as an occasion in the global media to discuss the merits of political leadership for human security, with occasional comments on its pitfalls. This particular leader is not the most politically safe object of discussion, as, for a long time, he openly advocated civil disobedience and resistance, initially of the non-violent kind, but later becoming violent. Predictably, the local hegemon reacted with great brutality and sweeping measures to the resistance of the ANC, policies that shocked many in the western world. This reaction by the gov­ernment and its supporters and the counterreaction it incited amounted, in the long run, to little more than a vast reduction in human security for most citizens of South Africa, lasting until the ANC's victory and Mr Mandela's ascendance to the presidency in 1994.