Race, politics and constitution-making in the negotiations leading to Eswatini's independence (formerly Swaziland) 1960-1968

The race question in politics and constitution-making in the lead up to Eswatini's independence is an important but underexplored field in Eswatini's historiography. This article argues that race was a core arena of contestation around which the various stakeholders involved in politics and constitution-making gravitated. King Sobhuza II considered whites and South Africa as the pivot of Eswatini's economy and therefore advocated special political rights and privileges for whites which were disproportionate to their minority population. The progressive political parties of the day espoused a political position that was opposed to the stances of the white community and apartheid South Africa. The irreconcilable positions between the progressives and the monarchists stalled Eswatini's constitutional developments. Whites and South Africa supported Sobhuza, their ally, to win the 1964 elections. Later, the alliance between whites and monarchists became more distant, after Sobhuza's abandonment of his earlier overtly pro-white policies to ensure the support of the black electorate. Debates preceding Eswatini's independence were hotly contested in parliament along racial lines and interests. This did not, however, ultimately compromise white economic interests and dominance.