Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: The paper draws on Nelson Mandela's autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom" to understand Mandela's perception of the racial power conflict in South Africa, and his own role as a leader in attempting to resolve that conflict. Mandela consistently saw the South African conflict in variable-sum rather than zero-sum terms: it was in all sides' interest to avoid civil war, but without risk-taking acts of leadership civil war was the likely outcome.

The paper draws parallels between Mandela's leadership and the strategies for resolving variable sum (or mixed motive) conflict set forth in Thomas C. Schelling's "The Strategy of Conflict." Mandela understood and practiced several of Schelling's strategic moves, including rendering oneself powerless to make further concessions and realizing when it is prudent not to push an opponent too far. But Mandela's accomplishments as political leader also highlight the limitations of Schelling's analysis, which minimizes the role of creative leadership in resolving conflict.

The paper then discusses Mandela's own leadership metaphors (herdsman leading a flock, chess player, gardener) and connects them to Mandela's unique ability, over the course of nearly four decades, to articulate for the widest possible audience the principles, methods, ultimate goals, and even the strategies of the anti-apartheid movement. Mandela's frankness about his reasons for turning to violent resistance in the early 1960s reflects paradoxically his own faith in the power of open dialogue about the nation's future.