>>but my understanding is that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had a lot to do with the transition in SA being peaceful. I suspect the bigger truth, of course, is that Mandela was a great leader and understood the need for it to be peaceful.

Not wanting to be too contrarian(!) or draw attention away from Mandela- but lets not forget de Klerk who was the last apartheid president. It was de Klerk who legalized liberation organizations that had been severely repressed and freed Mandela in 1990. He was so successful at persuading particularly Afrikaner whites that the time had come to change, that in 1992 a whites-only referendum on ending apartheid got an overwhelming "yes" vote. As president, de Klerk could have left Mandela in jail and supported calls for whites to arm up, ensuring a bloodbath far worse than Rhodesia experienced. Small wonder that the Nobel Peace prize was awarded to both de Klerk and Mandela, not just Mandala as popularly remembered.