ABSTRACT
Lesotho is the only state of any size with only one international boundary, and it is not only landlocked but is totally dependent upon South Africa. In May 1998, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) won the election, but protests continued throughout the remainder of the year and, in September, forces from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) were brought in to restore order. The violence resulted in the departure of some 4,000 refugees to South Africa. The series of changes throughout Lesotho's independence illustrate well the effects of internal and external pressures for liberalisation that have engulfed Africa. In the case of Lesotho, the problems are particularly acute because of the vital nature of its relationship with South Africa, which itself has witnessed perhaps the most extreme change of any country since the end of the Cold War.
