From Pigmentocracy to Representocracy

2018 ◽  
pp. 203-260
Author(s):  
Vineet Thakur
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Institutional Structures

This chapter traces the post-apartheid transformation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in South Africa. It argues that in the first decade of transition, the Department remained preoccupied with the process of internal restructuring, which was successfully achieved. This caused structural pains as many of the old white diplomats left the service, robbing the Department of crucial expertise. In these years, the political leadership played a stronger role in the South African foreign policymaking. While Mandela’s foreign policy formulation was ad-hocist, Mbeki relied on institutional structures. However, rather than emphasizing on strengthening the DFA, he created new institutional structures under his integrated governance scheme which, ironically, further centralised foreign policymaking. Consequently, the DFA was further marginalized.

Ethnic Factors in the Evolution of the South African Military

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Cynthia H. Enloe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Institution ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Ethnic Factors ◽  
The Military

Virtually all of the literature concerning the politics of South Africa analyzes the dynamics of that system within the frameworks of racism, authoritarianism, and repression. Yet, strangely, the political institution which is necessarily the bulwark of such a system—the military—has attracted scant attention except in terms of strategy and armaments.

scholarly journals Turkey’s “Zero Problems with the Neighbors” Policy: Was It Realistic?

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Askerov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
The Political ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
National Interests ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Government ◽  
Economic Developments

With the advancement of power in 2002, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has introduced revolutionary policies in Turkey in various realms, including foreign affairs. The new trend in the foreign policy focused on not having problems with neighbors. This could be possible or nearly possible theoretically but eliminating century-long and deep-rooted conflicts with some of the neighbors would not be easy in practice. The new idealistic/moralistic approach necessitated new ways of policy formulation based on mutual gains and unthinkable concessions on the part of Turkey. Ankara’s new approach had given a special importance to building bridges of trust with the neighbors, which also seemed attractive to the political leaders of the neighboring states. This idealistic/moralistic approach was vulnerable to the dynamic political and economic developments in the region and the world in general. The policy did not have a power of sustainability due to the various old, new, and emerging problems around Turkey and hence, the government had to give it up gradually and take a new course of foreign policy based on realistic approaches to defend its national interests.

Challenges and Complexities of the South African Economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 2-25
Author(s):  
Fiona Tregenna ◽  
Arabo K. Ewinyu ◽  
Arkebe Oqubay ◽  
Imraan Valodia
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Growth Path ◽  
The South ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Key Characteristics

This chapter discusses the key characteristics and core challenges of the South African economy in the post-apartheid era. South Africa shares some commonalities with other African and middle-income economies, yet has a unique history and some distinctive economic features. South Africa’s economic complexities and challenges are discussed here with reference to six comparator countries. We examine South Africa’s growth path, considering the low rates of economic growth as well as the lack of structural transformation and the unsustainable and non-inclusive nature of this growth. The ‘triple challenges’ of poverty, inequality, and employment are both a manifestation of the nature of this growth path and a constraint on overall growth. This is also briefly evaluated in the context of the political economy and policy context of growth and development in South Africa. The chapter reviews South African economic data, with a focus on microeconomic survey data.

A Case for a Transforming Christology in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-326
Author(s):  
Jakobus (Koos) M. Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Literature ◽  
Lost In Translation

Abstract In the South African discourse on the political relevance of Jesus Christ, a vast array of conceptions of Jesus emerged over the years of the struggle, the liberation, the quest for spirituality and the theology of reconstruction. This discourse has taken place within the framework of the two broad historical movements of a “high” and a “low” Christology. In a recent thought provoking and informative article Mouton & Smit investigated four of the dominant discourses on Jesus in contemporary South Africa.1 They surveyed the discussions of Jesus in the popular news and newspaper debates, academic circles and scholarship, the worship and spirituality of congregations and believers, and public opinion about social and political life. After reviewing a huge corpus of South African literature on concepts of Jesus they ask the question whether Jesus was lost in translation in the South Africa of recent times. This article is an attempt to take the argument further. First of all, the investigation will provide another outline of the Christologies in the recent South African discourse within the broad framework of a “high” and a “low” Christology. The concepts under consideration are the spiritual Jesus, the political Jesus and the historical Jesus. Then a case will be made for the transforming Jesus of the Kingdom of God as a corrective on the Christologies of Apartheid, the liberation struggle and the modern-day post-modern projections of the historical Jesus.

The 1952 Jan Van Riebeeck Tercentenary Festival: Constructing and Contesting Public National History in South Africa

1993 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciraj Rassool ◽  
Leslie Witz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public History ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
National History ◽  
Political Project ◽  
The 1950S

For all approaches to the South African past the icon of Jan Van Riebeeck looms large. Perspectives supportive of the political project of white domination created and perpetuate the icon as the bearer of civilization to the sub-continent and its source of history. Opponents of racial oppression have portrayed Van Riebeeck as public (history) enemy number one of the South African national past. Van Riebeeck remains the figure around which South Africa's history is made and contested.But this has not always been the case. Indeed up until the 1950s, Van Riebeeck appeared only in passing in school history texts, and the day of his landing at the Cape was barely commemorated. From the 1950s, however, Van Riebeeck acquired centre stage in South Africa's public history. This was not the result of an Afrikaner Nationalist conspiracy but arose out of an attempt to create a settler nationalist ideology. The means to achieve this was a massive celebration throughout the country of the 300th anniversary of Van Riebeeck's landing. Here was an attempt to display the growing power of the apartheid state and to assert its confidence.A large festival fair and imaginative historical pageants were pivotal events in establishing the paradigm of a national history and constituting its key elements. The political project of the apartheid state was justified in the festival fair through the juxtaposition of ‘civilization’ and economic progress with ‘primitiveness’ and social ‘backwardness’. The historical pageant in the streets of Cape Town presented a version of South Africa's past that legitimated settler rule.Just as the Van Riebeeck tercentenary afforded the white ruling bloc an opportunity to construct an ideological hegemony, it was grasped by the Non-European Unity Movement and the African National Congress to launch political campaigns. Through the public mediums of the resistance press and the mass meeting these organizations presented a counter-history of South Africa. These oppositional forms were an integral part of the making of the festival and the Van Riebeeck icon. In the conflict which played itself out in 1952 there was a remarkable consensus about the meaning of Van Riebeeck's landing in 1652. The narrative constructed, both by those seeking to establish apartheid and those who sought to challenge it, represented Van Riebeeck as the spirit of apartheid and the originator of white domination. The ideological frenzy in the centre of Cape Town in 1952 resurrected Van Riebeeck from obscurity and historical amnesia to become the lead actor on South Africa's public history stage.

The 1927 Soviet War Scare: The Foreign Affairs-Domestic Policy Nexus Revisited

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-165
Author(s):  
Hugh D. Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Party Leadership ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Relations Of Power

The Soviet War Scare of 1927 is usually treated solely within the bounds of Soviet political machinations. This study explores the connection between Bolshevik domestic and foreign policy in the War Scare of 1927 with a focus on the peasants. The peasants in the early years of the NEP were seeking a compromise with the regime, seeing the relations of power following the war, the civil war, and horrendous famine of 1921-1922, not in their favor. The War Scare of 1927 altered how both the peasants and the regime saw one another and the possibility of compromise. The rumors of war were soon coupled with threats of peasants uprising against the communists. By fall 1927, both the local police in their svodki and the central OGPU in its summary reports to the political leadership were describing a mounting confrontational atmosphere among the peasants. Given the heightened anxieties within the leadership regarding the Soviet Union’s ability to defend itself, concern over the reliability of the peasantry and a demand to know more fully about the “political situation in the countryside” had reached a fever pitch. Surveiling the countryside, both the central OGPU and the party leadership concluded, not without some evidence, that a growing number of peasants desired a showdown. The War Scare of 1927 added significantly to the factors that helped set the process of collectivization in motion.

South Africa’s Foreign Policy and the BRICS Formation: Reflections on the Quest for the ‘Right’ Economic-diplomatic Strategy

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-61
Author(s):  
Theo Neethling
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
South African Government ◽  
The South ◽  
African Government ◽  
Economic Diplomacy ◽  
The Right

South Africa’s foreign policy has recently been gravitating away from an appeal to Western powers towards the establishment of new friendships in the Global South, especially with Asia and Latin America. Moreover, the favouring of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) partnership and a rising tone of anti-Western sentiments have increasingly been evidenced in South Africa’s contemporary foreign policy, which are of major significance to the nature and direction of its economic-diplomatic strategy. Three broad perspectives or main arguments from this article are of special importance: First, most members of BRICS are troubled by slower economic growth, which should be of concern to South Africa’s current foreign policy stand. Second, anti-Western ideological concerns and related presumptions on the part of the South African government that the BRICS formation could potentially assume a counter-hegemonic character vis-à-vis the West are questionable and dubious. Third, South Africa stands to benefit from many networks and opportunities provided by BRICS membership. At the same time, because of its low economic growth, high levels of poverty and lack of employment opportunities, South Africa cannot afford to follow an approach of narrow interest concerning the BRICS formation and to constrain itself in its economic diplomacy. This article argues that the South African government will therefore have to consider the opportunities offered by a more nuanced and pragmatic foreign policy designed on multiple identities.

scholarly journals The Corona Virus and Migration Governance in South Africa: Business As Usual?

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franzisca Luise Zanker ◽  
Khangelani Moyo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Border Fence ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Business As Usual

The South African response in dealing with the Corona pandemic needs to speak to the realities of all people living in the country, including migrant and refugee communities. Reflecting on this in light of ongoing research on the political stakes of migration governance, we find that the virus response shows little change in the government agenda when it comes to dealing with refugees and other migrants. Veritably, we see that the pandemic may even be an excuse for pushing through already-aspired to policies. This includes the securitised agenda behind the sudden building of a border fence to close off Zimbabwe and the xenophobic-rhetorical clout behind the lockdown rules about which shops are allowed to remain open. The temporary stay on renewing asylum seekers permits counts as a perfunctory exception. We show that each of these developments very much play into politics as usual.

Ethnic Factors in the Evolution of the South African Military

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Cynthia H. Enloe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Institution ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Ethnic Factors ◽  
The Military

Virtually all of the literature concerning the politics of South Africa analyzes the dynamics of that system within the frameworks of racism, authoritarianism, and repression. Yet, strangely, the political institution which is necessarily the bulwark of such a system—the military—has attracted scant attention except in terms of strategy and armaments.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document