ABSTRACT
This epilogue summarizes the political and social background of Nelson Mandela's struggle: the South African apartheid regime and its philosophy. It then analyses Mandela's first steps in politics through the Youth League of the ANC. Mandela's political thought was anchored in the daily struggle of South Africans for their social and political rights. From the outset, this thought was articulated through specific events and documents such as the "Freedom Charter" (FC), "Freedom in our Lifetime" (FL), and the "Rivonia Trial" (RT) and accompanied by the experience of state violence, repression, and the arrest of anti-apartheid activists. The epilogue further discusses the concept of Ubuntu that highlights a premise that is fundamental to African thinking according to which an individual is not a human being except once he or she is part of a social order. It finally addresses major articulations of his political credo including democracy, collective action, African nationalism, and diversity.
