The End Conscription Campaign in South Africa: War Resistance in a Divided Society

Abstract

The End Conscription Campaign was a war resistance movement in South Africa between 1984 and 1993. This article examines the strategy behind this unique movement, and explores its relationship to the South African liberation struggle and the anti-apartheid movement. The militarisation of South African society and the uprising against apartheid by the black majority, both of which intensified during the decade of the 1980s, created the context within which this movement gained momentum. It is argued that although the End Conscription Campaign was not able to impact upon the military efficiency of the South African Defence Force, it was able to make an important contribution to the liberation struggle through its undermining of the legitimacy of the Defence Force in the eyes of the conscripted population.