The South African Moment

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Mamdani
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Direct Action ◽  
The State ◽  
Columbia University ◽  
The South ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Armed Resistance ◽  
Apartheid Regime

This essay draws parallels between the movement for justice in Palestine and the South African experience during the anti-apartheid struggle, engaging critically with supporters and practitioners of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. Notwithstanding their very different contexts, the author argues that in the South African case, the decision to broaden the struggle to all opponents of apartheid, thereby transcending the racialism normalized by the very structure of the state, enabled the movement to gain the momentum necessary to bring down the apartheid regime. Neither armed resistance nor boycott alone was sufficient to win the battle without the added component of mass-based direct action. The essay challenges the activists of the contemporary Palestinian movement to redefine their strategy and create their own South African moment. The text is based on the author's remarks as discussant at a talk by BDS cofounder Omar Barghouti, held at Columbia University on 2 December 2014.

Doctors under Tension

1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-136
Author(s):  
Raymond Hoffenberg
Keyword(s):  
Physical Abuse ◽  
South African ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
The State ◽  
The South ◽  
Police Services ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Primary Object ◽  
Practice Of Medicine ◽  
Relief Of Suffering

The practice of medicine should be humanitarian, in which the primary object is the relief of suffering and the interests of patients are paramount. In certain circumstances even the best of doctors might find it difficult to sustain these principles. Doctors, especially those employed by the State, may be expected to participate in aspects of corporal or capital punishment, which introduces a conflict of loyalties and subordinates the interests of individuals to those of the State. Others, in the prison or police services, may get drawn into or comply with physical abuse and torture, most commonly through failing to report incidents that come to their notice. In this paper I discuss some aspects of medicine under tension in the light of the South African experience.

scholarly journals Reading Practices and Literacy of Boer Combatants in the South African War of 1899–1902

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-307
Author(s):  
Fransjohan Pretorius
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
South African ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
The State ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
The South ◽  
Planning Strategy ◽  
The Bible ◽  
South African War ◽  
Reading Matter

In investigating the reading practices of Boer combatants during the South African War, diaries, letters, and reminiscences were consulted. The state of literacy reveals a picture of a small number of highly literate men, a larger group of adequately literate men, a still larger group of semi-literates, and the illiterate. Reading matter included the Bible, newspapers, and books. Issues raised are: Did literacy (or illiteracy) influence military decision-making or troop morale? Were certain works making some impact on the battlefield? Was the practical experience the Boers had gained before the war more successful in planning strategy and tactics than literacy?

Asad on the Secular

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Auwais Rafudeen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
South African ◽  
The State ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Nature ◽  
African Context

This paper examines a South African debate on legislating Muslim marriages in the light of anthropologist Talal Asad’s critique developed in his Formations of the Secular (2003). It probes aspects of the debate under four Asadian themes: (1) the historicity of the secular, secularism, and secularization; (2) the place of power and the new articulations of discourses it creates; (3) the state as the arm of that power; and (4) the interconnections (or dislocations) among law, ethics, and the organic environment (habitus). I argue that Asad illumines the debate in the following ways: (1) by providing a deeper historical and philosophical appreciation of its terms of reference, given that the proposed legislation will be subject to South Africa’s secular Bill of Rights and constitution; (2) by requiring us to examine and interrogate the genealogies of such particular hegemonic discourses as human rights, which some participants appear to present as ahistorical and privileged; and (3) by showing, through the concept of habitus, why this debate needs to go beyond its present piecemeal legal nature and develop an appreciation of the organic linkages among the Shari‘ah, morality, community, and self. Yet inevitable nuances are produced when applying Asad’s ideas to the South African context.

scholarly journals Developing evaluation standards and assessing evaluation quality

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Leslie ◽  
Nishendra Moodley ◽  
Ian Goldman ◽  
Christel Jacob ◽  
Donna Podems ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Quality Assessment ◽  
South African ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
The State ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
The South ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
Evaluation Practice ◽  
Quality Assessments

The article explains the rationale for the development of standards for evaluation practice, the process followed in developing those standards, and how those standards inform the quality assessment of evaluations. Quality assessment of evaluations are conducted as a routine activity of the South African National Evaluation System (NES). The importance of quality assessment for improving the state of evaluation practice in South Africa is illustrated by presenting results from the quality assessments undertaken to date. The paper concludes by discussing the progress on the development of a public Evaluations Repository to manage and provide access to completed evaluations and their quality assessment results, and offering some concluding analytical remarks.

scholarly journals TEOLOGIA PÚBLICA NO BRASIL: UM PRIMEIRO BALANÇO

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (122) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Rudolf Von Sinner
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
South African ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
The South ◽  
The World ◽  
Uniform Definition ◽  
Different Parts

À luz de desafios atuais presentes no espaço público brasileiro, a discussão sobre a presença de crucifixos em tribunais gaúchos e a atuação de políticos evangélicos no Congresso, o artigo propõe-se fazer um primeiro balanço da reflexão sobre uma teologia pública no Brasil. Assim, procura responder à pergunta “o que é teologia pública?” não de forma definitória, inequívoca, uniformizante. Antes, mostra uma variedade de origens do termo e de oportunidades, bem como de perigos contidos neste conceito. Num primeiro passo, o artigo apresenta quatro linhas de abordagem presentes na emergente discussão brasileira. Em seguida, recorrendo ao sul-africano Dirk Smit, mostra a diversidade de origens e usos do conceito em várias partes do mundo. Por fim, procura evidenciar a pertinência e o potencial de uma teologia pública no Brasil – com ousadia e humildade.ABSTRACT: In view of actual challenges present in the Brazilian public space, the discussion on the presence of crosses in courthouses in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as on the activities of evangelical Congressmen, this article ventures into a first balance of reflection on a public theology in Brazil. It seeks to respond to the question “what is public theology?” not with a clear and uniform definition. Rather, it shows a variety of origins and opportunities, as well as dangers contained in the concept. In a first step, the article presents four lines of thought present in the emerging Brazilian discussion. Then, with reference to the South African theologian Dirk Smit, it shows the diversity of origins and uses of the concept in different parts of the world. Finally, it seeks to show the pertinence and the potential of a public theology in Brazil – both with boldness and humility. 

scholarly journals Rapid and Successful Implementation of a COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Programme—The South African Experience

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2050
Author(s):  
Tanya Nadia Glatt ◽  
Caroline Hilton ◽  
Cynthia Nyoni ◽  
Avril Swarts ◽  
Ronel Swanevelder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
The South ◽  
South Africans ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Antibody Titres ◽  
Investigational Therapies ◽  
Set Up

Background: COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) has been considered internationally as a treatment option for COVID-19. CCP refers to plasma collected from donors who have recovered from and made antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. To date, convalescent plasma has not been collected in South Africa. As other investigational therapies and vaccination were not widely accessible, there was an urgent need to implement a CCP manufacture programme to service South Africans. Methods: The South African National Blood Service and the Western Cape Blood Service implemented a CCP programme that included CCP collection, processing, testing and storage. CCP units were tested for SARS-CoV-2 Spike ELISA and neutralising antibodies and routine blood transfusion parameters. CCP units from previously pregnant females were tested for anti-HLA and anti-HNA antibodies. Results: A total of 987 CCP units were collected from 243 donors, with a median of three donations per donor. Half of the CCP units had neutralising antibody titres of >1:160. One CCP unit was positive on the TPHA serology. All CCP units tested for anti-HLA antibodies were positive. Conclusion: Within three months of the first COVID-19 diagnosis in South Africa, a fully operational CCP programme was set up across South Africa. The infrastructure and skills implemented will likely benefit South Africans in this and future pandemics.

Heterogeneity and Instability: Theoretical–Methodological Outcomes of Three Investigations on Land and Agrarian Movements and the State

2021 ◽  
pp. 227797602110526
Author(s):  
Marcelo C. Rosa ◽  
Camila Penna ◽  
Priscila D. Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Agrarian Reform ◽  
The State ◽  
Agricultural Workers ◽  
The South ◽  
The Third ◽  
Public Expression ◽  
Transnational Ties ◽  
Definition Of

The article presents a theoretical–methodological proposal to research movements and its connections based on the associations they establish. The first investigation focuses on the transformations of the South African Landless People’s Movement, the second on interactions between Brazilian rural movements and the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform, the third focuses on the transnational ties of the Brazilian National Confederation of Agricultural Workers. We produce an ontological definition of movements and the state as collectives whose existence is defined by continuous assemblages of heterogeneous and unstable elements. Those collectives are not enclosed analytical units, but contingent and contextual. Methodologically, we suggest the observation of the processes in the long term to grasp the continuous constructions of those collectives, even before they reach public expression. Controversies are analytical categories for understanding which elements allow things to take the course we analyze.

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