ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the negotiated transformation within the process of Namibian decolonisation towards a sovereign state. It mainly focuses on the negotiations initiated and conducted by the Western Contact Group. The United Nations created different fora to negotiate the decolonisation process and ultimately to secure its implementation. The power of definition concerning the post-colonial system of political governance was exercised mainly by the national liberation movement in interaction with the international system represented by a variety of competing actors under the polarised conditions of superpower rivalry. Erasmus points out in retrospective, the international settlement plan as designed in Security Council Resolution 435(1978) 'gained an important additional element when it was decided to determine the basic content of Namibia's Constitution in advance. Constitution-making became part of the international peace-making operation'. The liberation movement South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) had the privilege and strategic advantage of being the only recognised representative of the Namibian people internationally.
