The HSRC and the government in the 1980s: the investigation into intergroup relations

Abstract

In 1985, the HSRC released its report on an investigation into intergroup relations in South Africa. The overriding conclusion was that '... the political wondering of intergroup relations according to the original apartheid model has reached an impasse'. The report became instant headline news. Dr Henrik (Bok) Marais, former deputy president of the HSRC and director of the investigation, shares some of his experiences during the period 1981-1985. He believes that the research programme, the release of the main report and its subsequent dissemination contributed, in a modest way, to the thawing of intergroup relations in the country and the national positioning of the HSRC.