This book has its origins in assertions by Henning Melber, then Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, and a colleague and friend with whom I have worked very closely over recent years, that while there are numerous surveys which address post-liberation politics in the individual countries of southern Africa, comparative reviews were few and far between, and that I should try to remedy the situation. What was needed, he suggested, was a short overview. Well, once I got down to it, I began to appreciate that the task was considerably more ambitious than either I or Henning had envisaged, and that serious analysis of any depth would require extended treatment: hence vanished the next two years. With friends like Henning, who needs enemies? The result, I fear, may cause anguish amongst country specialists while failing to satisfy those seeking further understanding of regional dynamics and the differences and similarities between the three national liberation movements upon which I have focused – the African National Congress, the South West African People's Organization and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. Nonetheless, whether or not readers find the text satisfactory, I have attempted to provide a comparative evaluation across history and diverse vectors of the present, while recognizing the need to be selective in the interests of economy.