South African strategic minerals and U.S. foreign policy, 1961–1968

Conclusion

The proceeding empirical data and analysis lend support to the central thesis of this work. Contrary to traditional scholarly opinion, South African mineral production, especially of chromite and platinum group metals, was indispensable to the American economy and military industrial complex. Economic dependency thus provides the key to understanding Washington’s pro-apartheid policy during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.