Discussions about the existence of contemporary apartheid are quite often emotionally charged in popular discourse. Labeling a State or State actor as a perpetrator of apartheid can send an informed debate adrift. As a result, a debate on the existence of contemporary apartheid often fails even before it had a chance to start. However, it is possible to have an informed debate about the existence of contemporary. Such a debate can only occur, however, when there exists a common understanding of the meaning of ‘apartheid’. For this reason, clarification of the definition of apartheid is necessary to advance serious discourse about its existence.