Petitioning Geneva: Transnational Aspects of Protest and Resistance in South West Africa/Namibia after the First World War**

Abstract

This article explores the transnational dimension of anti-colonial protest and resistance in mandated South West Africa during the period between the First and Second World Wars. In its capacity as a mandatory power, the South African government had to operate within the parameters of trusteeship laid down by the League of Nations. The Western Allies intended that the League's Permanent Mandates Commission monitor a ‘reformed’ type of imperialism. However, colonised peoples eagerly responded to the Wilsonian message of national self-determination by complaining to the League about the infringement of the principles of self-governance. Focusing on the extensive petitioning campaign of the Rehoboth Basters in South West Africa as a case study, this article argues that marginalised communities were able to alleviate some of the harsh effects of colonial rule by articulating their dissent in an international forum.