How did apartheid actually end?

Through a negotiated settlement — the product of multi-year secret and then public talks between the ANC and the National Party government. Key moments: the 1985 back-channel contacts initiated while Mandela was still in prison; the release of Walter Sisulu and other prisoners in 1989; Mandela's release in February 1990; and the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) negotiations from 1991-1993 that produced the transition framework.

What was Mandela's role in the negotiations?

Central. Despite having no official position and just being released from prison, Mandela essentially co-led the negotiating process with F.W. de Klerk. He was the ANC's most credible figure with both the movement and the international community. He convinced the ANC to accept a power-sharing transition rather than immediate majority rule — a painful compromise that prevented a collapse.

What was the greatest obstacle to peaceful transition?

Right-wing white violence. Eugene Terre'Blanche's AWB (Afrikaner Resistance Movement) wanted to derail the process. Elements within the security forces staged bombings and killings to provoke ANC retaliation and collapse the talks. The assassination of Chris Hani in 1993 — one of the ANC's most popular figures — nearly succeeded in triggering a war. Mandela's response (calm, firm, calling for peace) was the critical moment.

What was the transition deal?

South Africa adopted a new constitution. The first democratic election was held April 27, 1994. Mandela was inaugurated as president in May 1994. The ANC won a majority but not the two-thirds required to write the constitution alone — which Mandela had engineered deliberately to force coalition.

Why didn't South Africa collapse into civil war?

Because both sides made concessions. The ANC accepted a delayed transformation of the security services and economy. The National Party accepted majority rule. Mandela spent significant personal capital bridging the two. And the international community provided both resources and moral pressure at critical moments.