This issue of FOCUS reports on South African cross-border military actions and assassinations in Swaziland, Namibia, and Angola during mid-1987. It details attacks on Southern African states and exiles, including the assassination of ANC officials in Swaziland, major military offensives in Angola, and increased South African defence and police budgets. The publication also outlines the objectives and international affiliations of IDAF and provides a list of source abbreviations.

This issue of 'Focus' covers military and political developments in Angola and Namibia during early 1988, including South African military actions, diplomatic pressures, and the involvement of international actors. It also outlines the objectives and activities of the International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa and provides information on affiliated committees and the publications programme.

The article reports on SWAPO's participation in independence talks, its political and economic programme for Namibia, and the repression faced by SWAPO officials and supporters by South African authorities in Namibia. It details police and military actions against demonstrations and rallies in Windhoek, Rundu, Tsumeb, Grootfontein, and other towns, including the use of force, arrests, and intimidation. The article also describes efforts by South African and right-wing groups to resist the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 435 and Namibian independence.

This issue documents South African destabilisation operations in Southern Africa during 1988-1989, including military attacks, support for insurgent groups (UNITA, MNR), cross-border raids, bombings, assassinations, and other forms of aggression in Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. The article references numerous primary sources and provides context on the humanitarian impact, including displacement and refugee crises.

This supplement to FOCUS No. 87 provides an analysis of the steps taken and obstacles remaining in the process of negotiating an end to apartheid in South Africa as of early 1990. It details the partial reforms initiated by the apartheid regime, including the unbanning of political organisations, the release of some political prisoners, and the lifting of certain emergency regulations. The supplement critically examines the limitations of these reforms, the continued existence of repressive legislation, the ongoing state of emergency, and the regime's retention of significant powers of repression. It also covers the responses of the African National Congress (ANC) and the international community, and outlines the requirements of the Harare Declaration for genuine negotiations.