Status Signaling and the Risk of Domestic Opposition: Comparing South Africa and Brazil's Hosting of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janis van der Westhuizen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Opposite Direction ◽  
The Political ◽  
World Cup ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Mega Events ◽  
Status Signaling ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
First World

Abstract Whereas much of the literature on status and domestic audiences analyzes how international achievement helps shore up domestic legitimacy, analyses regarding the opposite direction—how the lack of domestic support undercuts status signaling—remain rare. Mega-events constitute a highly public and visible example of conspicuous consumption as a form of status signaling. However, in rising democracies state elites are obliged to frame the benefits of hosting a World Cup in both instrumental dimensions and expressive virtues. In Brazil, the political fallout from the economic crisis, however, made it very difficult for state elites to rely on the expressive value of Brazil's status as World Cup host to subdue domestic opposition driven by instrumental logics. In contrast, for South Africans, the 2010 World Cup not only became an “exceptional status moment” but also constituted a “nation founding moment,” which meant that the expressive significance of hosting the first World Cup in Africa mitigated similar instrumental criticism.

South Africa and Scotland in the First World War

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Hyslop
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
British Empire ◽  
The South ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Battle Of The Somme ◽  
First World

This chapter discusses the powerful and long-lasting impact Scottish military symbolism on the formation of military culture in South Africa. Drawing on the work of John MacKenzie and Jonathan Hyslop’s notion of ‘military Scottishness’, this chapter analyses how Scottish identity both interacted with the formation of political identities in South Africa, and ‘looped back’ to connect with changing forms of national identity in Scotland itself. In particular, it addresses how the South Africans’ heroic role at Delville Wood, during the Battle of the Somme, became a putative symbol of this racialised ‘South Africanism’. The South African Brigade included a battalion of so-called ‘South African Scottish’ which reflected the phenomenon of military Scottishness. Overall, the chapter looks at the way in which the representations of the role of the South African troops involved an interplay between British empire loyalism, white South African political identities, and Scottishness.

scholarly journals Employment Equity

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 69-83
Author(s):  
Barend Röges Odendaal
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
The Political ◽  
Employment Equity ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
The Past

The Employment Equity Act, 1998, Act 55 of 1998 was created in order to bring about a paradigm shift in South Africa’s labour relations, transforming it into a system based on equality. This change in the political life of all South Africans has brought about huge challenges to employers and employees alike. Seen as a threat to some, others view it as a positive beacon. If the Act was correctly implemented, South Africa will be heading towards a better competitive market and the workforce should be equally representative of the population. This paper aims to illustrate whether the Act has achieved its goals over the past 13 years by means of analysis and assessment of reports and statistical reviews. An overview is offered in the form of a literature review of the Act and defining the current legislation thereof in conjunction with management theory. The paper challenges the perceptions of all South Africans and finding possible solutions to areas in which the Act has failed. The paper further proposes action steps for the effective implementation of the legislation and for the process to follow to ensure that is fair in the sense that all employees can compete on equal terms.

scholarly journals Humanism in the Autobiographies of Edward Said and Nelson Mandela: Memory as Action

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-99
Author(s):  
Jihan Zakarriya
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Black Male ◽  
Life Stories ◽  
The Political ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
Binary Oppositions ◽  
Bear Witness

This paper focuses on the concept of memory as a form of humanist activism in the autobiographies of Nelson Mandela and Edward Said, namely The Long Walk to Freedom (1994) and After the Last Sky (1999), respectively. I have chosen Mandela and Said because they dedicated their lives and efforts to the service of the cause of freedom in South Africa and Palestine. Their engagement with the political causes of their countries turns into a concern with worldwide struggles for human rights and racial equality. While Mandela emerged as a vital force against apartheid in South Africa, Said was a well-known and influential Palestinian critic and intellectual whose writings tackle the Palestinian struggle for justice within the worldwide experience of imperialism and its binary oppositions of white/black, male/female, superior /inferior. I argue that their autobiographies bear witness to the plight of Black South Africans and Palestinians as both a shared memory resistant to erasure and as a call for justice. Mandela and Said use their personal memories and life stories to construct a public reading of the meanings of the events that shaped them. Both are concerned with the ways their people have been represented by others, and how they struggle to represent themselves.

scholarly journals CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING LAW IN SOUTH AFRICA: A FUNDAMENTAL GAP IN THE LLB CURRICULUM?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quinton Joubert
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Green Technology ◽  
World Cup ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Alternative Energy Sources

Construction companies throughout South Africa have continuously been active in major projects, the building of new power plants such as Medupi, new road networks, stadiums for the 2010 soccer world cup that was held in South Africa as well as the building of the tunnels and bridges that now host the Gautrain. The extent of communication technology has also seen a growth in recent years and thus calls for further infrastructure by service providers in this area. The environmental conscience of South Africans and many companies in the search for alternative energy sources has also led to a further growth in ‘green’ technology which is more efficient and productive.3 More examples of construction projects include but are not limited to the building of various malls, roads, residential houses, lying out of pipelines, and a number of other engineering feats, etcetera.

scholarly journals The Case of South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 85-110
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Ruling Party

Multiple crises have emerged in South Africa in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. General well-being is in severe danger from the immediate effects of the virus and the longer-term impact of hunger due to a growing economic crisis. While the working-class majority struggle, there is a political struggle for political power playing out among factions in the ruling party. These tensions flared up in the wake of President Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment in July 2021, leading to widespread unrest and destruction. These experiences point to a failing economic system that neglected the poor. If this neglect continues, then this unrest may continue. In making this argument, I base my analysis upon the views of political luminaries such as Neville Alexander, Archie Mafeje, and Roger Southall. Their views are linked to the experiences of many South Africans during the pandemic.

40 YEARS ONWARDS: REAPPRAISING QWAQWA AFTER 20 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH AFRICA

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-103
Author(s):  
Barend Van der Merwe ◽  
Tshitso Challa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
First World War ◽  
World War ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Historical Objects ◽  
First World ◽  
Key Questions

Archiving is a process that involves the carefully documented storage of historical objects and documents. History involves events that we choose to remember or forget, nevertheless, the year 2014 is no insignificant year. Not only did South Africans celebrate 20 years of democracy, it was also 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War (1914–1918), the Rebellion of South Africa, as well as the establishment of the National Party of South Africa. It also marked 40 years since the establishment of Qwaqwa, a former “homeland” of South Africa. This article critically reflects on the establishment of Qwaqwa by introducing its records and exploring the key questions: What is the main legacy of the establishment of Qwaqwa for South Africans? How was Qwaqwa managed and who were its influential leaders? Against this backdrop, this article will also discuss the role of the Dikwankwetla Party and the resettlement aspect. It is hoped that the introduction of these records will stimulate further research into the topic of the South African homeland system and cultivate greater insights into the country’s contested history.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document