Ten Reasons Why I Oppose Boycotts Against Israeli Academics (And Why You Should Too!)

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-86
Author(s):  
Robert Fine
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Racial Democracy ◽  
First Time ◽  
Socialist Politics ◽  
Political Battle

This is not the first time I have been embroiled in a boycott debate. In the 1980s, I was involved in solidarity work with the fledgling indepen- dent trade unions in South Africa. They were a living expression of non-racial democracy across so-called national lines. Solidarity included establishing direct links between South African and British unions at official and rank–and-file levels. As a result of our solidarity activities, we were pilloried by leading figures in anti-apartheid, the ANC, and the South African Communist Party for breaking the boycott! When we invited a South African academic, a leading advocate of the new unions and anti-apartheid scholar, to speak at our Comparative Labour Studies pro- gram at Warwick University, a demonstration was organized by a couple of SACP stalwarts to prevent him from speaking. When we wrote a trade union solidarity pamphlet, we were told that unions could only be legal in South Africa if they collaborated with the regime and that we were in effect collaborationists. Beneath the argument about boycott what was really going on was a political battle between a progressive socialist politics and quite reactionary nationalist politics. It is a battle that has not stopped and is rising to the surface in contemporary South Africa. I grant there is no direct analogy between the boycott of apartheid South Africa and that of Israeli academic institutions, but I contend that a similar political battle is taking place—a battle for our future political life.

Post-Liberation South Africa: Sorting Out the Pieces

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-268
Author(s):  
EC Ejiogu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Racial Democracy ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Alliance Partners ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Democratic Elections

The written history and narratives of the anti-apartheid liberation struggle in South Africa has been cast, albeit erroneously, as if it was waged and won solely by the African National Congress (ANC), its ally the South African Communist Party (SACP), and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the three alliance partners that have held the reins of state power since the first multi-racial democratic elections in 1994. The truth is that the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) of Azania, the Azania People’s Organization (AZAPO), the New Unity Movement (NUMO), and several other liberation movements played significantly vital roles in that struggle. The ensuing discourse puts this state of affairs on the PAC’s diminished status in the politics of post-liberation South Africa, which derives partly from its radical antecedents from its inception that placed it apart from the ANC from which it split in 1959, earned it immediate proscription from the apartheid stage before it could root itself properly as well as notoriety in the West. The discourse argues and concludes that a more comprehensive narrative and written history of that struggle will benefit the on-going quest for the transformation of South Africa’s multi-racial democracy and the course of democracy in the rest of Africa.

Stability and Governability the Benign Effects of Party Dominance in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-75
Author(s):  
Ainara Mancebo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
The Other ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
African Countries ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Independence Era ◽  
Party Dominance

A tripartite alliance formed by the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions has been ruling the country with wide parliamentarian majorities. The country remains more consensual and politically inclusive than any of the other African countries in the post-independence era. This article examines three performance’s aspects of the party dominance systems: legitimacy, stability and violence. As we are living in a period in which an unprecedented number of countries have completed democratic transitions, it is politically and conceptually important that we understand the specific tasks of crafting democratic consolidation.

Implications for the age of South African Devonian rocks in which Tropidoleptus (Brachiopoda) has been found

1983 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Boucot ◽  
C. H. C. Brunton ◽  
J. N. Theron
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
North America ◽  
South African ◽  
Early Carboniferous ◽  
Fossil Plants ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Marine Sedimentation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
First Time

SummaryThe Devonian brachiopod Tropidoleptus is recognized for the first time in South Africa. It is present in the lower part of the Witteberg Group at four widely separated localities. Data regarding the stratigraphical range of the genus elsewhere, combined with information on recently described fossil plants and vertebrates from underlying strata of the upper Bokkeveld Group, suggest that a Frasnian or even Givetian age is reasonable for the lower part of the Witteberg Group. The recognition of Tropidoleptus in a shallow water, near-shore, molluscan association, at the top of the South African marine Devonian sequence, is similar to its occurrence in Bolivia, and suggests a common Malvinokaffric Realm history of shallowing, prior to later Devonian or early Carboniferous non-marine sedimentation. It is noteworthy that Tropidoleptus is now known to occur in ecologically suitable environments around the Atlantic, but is absent from these same environments in Asia and Australia. Tropidoleptus is an excellent example of dispersal in geological time — first appearing in northern Europe and Nova Scotia, then elsewhere in eastern North America and North Africa, followed by South America and South Africa, while continuing in North America.

scholarly journals The fate of labor after regime change: Lessons from post-communist Poland and post-apartheid South Africa for Tunisia’s Nobel-Prize winning unions

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M Hartshorn ◽  
Rudra Sil
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Economic Liberalization ◽  
Nobel Peace Prize ◽  
Unanticipated Consequences ◽  
The Arab Spring

Wherever labor has played a significant role in bringing about regime change, there may be opportunities to join in the post-authoritarian ruling coalition in the hopes of consolidating its influence. This article examines the long-term risks and unanticipated consequences of giving in to this temptation by comparing post-communist Poland and post-apartheid South Africa, where the leading trade union federations became weaker and more divided as their political allies pushed forward with economic liberalization. Tunisia’s trade unions, awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for their contribution to a stable transition after the ‘Arab Spring,’ face the risk of going down the same path should they continue to view themselves as partners of the new governing elite, which has already signaled its intention of pursuing further liberalization.

scholarly journals Population irruption of the clam Meretrix morphina in Lake St Lucia, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 113 (7/8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson A. F. Miranda ◽  
Nasreen Peer ◽  
Renzo Perissinotto ◽  
Nicola K. Carrasco ◽  
Salome Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Freshwater Input ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Ocean Region ◽  
West Indian Ocean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Eastern Seaboard

The thick-shelled clam Meretrix morphina, previously referred to as Meretrix meretrix, now occurs in the west Indian Ocean region, along the eastern seaboard of Africa, from the Red Sea to the Mlalazi Estuary, close to the Tugela River. Its presence in South Africa is only of recent recording. Meretrix morphina was detected for the first time in Lake St Lucia in 2000. The population declined and was not detected from 2005 until 2011, most likely as a result of a severe drought that resulted in widespread desiccation and hypersalinity in the lake. The system then experienced increased freshwater input resulting in lower salinities from 2011 until 2014, during which time M. morphina reappeared and their population gradually increased. In 2015, M. morphina became abundant in St Lucia, attaining unprecedented densities of 447 ind./m2. Biomass, expressed as a fresh weight, varied in the different basins of St Lucia, ranging from 195 g/m2 at Lister’s Point to 1909.8 g/m2 at Catalina Bay. However, in 2016, when drought conditions returned, M. morphina disappeared. This species appears to thrive under brackish salinities and high temperatures. It is able to establish large populations with high biomass and can become dominant. However, M. morphina is sensitive to desiccation and hypersaline conditions. This clam has substantial commercial value and is exploited along the African east coast, particularly in Mozambique. In future, it may feature more prominently in South African estuaries. However, the ecology of M. morphina is still largely unknown.

South African Economy: No Easy Life Ahead

2015 ◽  
pp. 104-116
Author(s):  
P. Mozias
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Current Account Deficit ◽  
National Development ◽  
Capital Inflows ◽  
The Other ◽  
The One

South African rand depreciated in 2013–2014 under the influence of a number of factors. Internationally, its weakness was associated with the capital outflow from all emerging markets as a result of QE’s tapering in the US. Domestically, rand plummeted because of the deterioration of the macroeconomic stance of South Africa itself: economic growth stalled and current account deficit widened again. Consumer spending was restrained with the high household indebtedness, investment climate worsened with the wave of bloody strikes, and net export was still prone to J-curve effect despite the degree of the devaluation happened. But, in its turn, those problems are a mere reflection of the deep institutional misbalances inherent to the very model of the national economy. Saving rate is too low in South Africa. This leads not only to an insufficient investment, but also to trade deficits and overdependence on speculative capital inflows. Extremely high unemployment means that the country’s economic potential is substantially underutilized. Joblessness is generated, first and foremost, by the dualistic structure of the national entrepreneurship. Basic wages are being formed by way of a bargaining between big public and semi state companies, on the one hand, and trade unions associated with the ruling party, on the other. Such a system is biased towards protection of vested interests of those who earn money in capital-intensive industries. At the same time, these rates of wages are prohibitively high for a small business; so far private companies tend to avoid job creation. A new impulse to economic development is likely to emerge only through the government’s efforts to mitigate disproportions and to pursue an active industrial policy. National Development Plan adopted in 2012 is a practical step in that direction. But the growth of public investment is constrained by a necessity of fiscal austerity; as a result, the budget deficit remained too large in recent years. South African Reserve Bank will have to choose between a stimulation of economic growth with low interest rates, on the one hand, and a support of rand by tightening of monetary policy, on the other. This dilemma will greatly influence prices of securities and yields at South African financial markets.

New and Interesting Records of South African Fungi, Part VII

Bothalia ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. O. Marasas ◽  
G. C. A. Van der Westhuizen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Medicago Sativa ◽  
South African ◽  
Parastizopus Armaticeps ◽  
First Time

Four species of fungi recorded for the first time in South Africa, are described and illustrated. These are:  Acremoniella verrucosa  Togn. from roots of  Medicago sativa; Coniella pulchella Hohn. from roots of pine-apple;  Periconia igniaria  Mason Ellis from seed of  Medicago sativa;  and  Stachybotrys subsimplex  Cooke from the cocoon of  Parastizopus armaticeps.

scholarly journals Access to information: Information disclosure in some South African organisations

2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36
Author(s):  
R. Van Der Walt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Industrial Democracy ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Disclosure Of Information ◽  
The Way

Legislation such as the Labour Relations No 66 of 1995 and the Promotion of Access to Information Act No 2 of 2000 has paved the way for creation of a culture of un-coerced disclosure of information in South African organisations. The article reviews progress in respect of information disclosure in South Africa and other countries and discusses the effects of the LRA in regard to disclosure of information to trade unions and workplace forums. It then describes a study conducted by the author and discusses the findings. It concludes with pointing out certain weaknesses in the disclosure process and exhorts managements and the trade unions to work together to improve this important tool for achieving success in organisations and enhancing industrial democracy.

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