BAPA+40: South African and African Lessons

The Second High-Level United Nations (UN) Conference on South-South Cooperation (also known as BAPA+40), held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 20 to 22 March 2019, promised to reinvigorate efforts to further achieve and implement South-South cooperation (SSC). Forty years on, the Global South is shaping its image as a solutions provider. Immense strides have been made in improving access to allow a multitude of state and non-state actors to cooperate, while broadening and deepening modes of cooperation and facilitating the exchange of knowledge and transfer of technology, thus moving beyond the simplistic view that developing countries require aid to function and move forward. However, noting these symbolic strides, the Global South should move forward by building understanding of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks; integrating multi-stakeholder models; improving the visibility of peace and security in South-South programming; and building effective communications systems.

Appraising the Dynamics of South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Lessons beyond BAPA+40

On 22 May 2019, the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD), in association with the University of South Africa (Unisa) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), co-hosted a dialogue titled “Appraising the Dynamics of South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation: Lessons beyond the BAPA+40 Conference”. The event reflected on the international development arena and global development agenda in the context of the United Nations (UN) Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 30 August to 12 September 1978, and the Second High-Level UN Conference on South-South Cooperation (SSC) also held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 20 to 22 March 2019, otherwise known as BAPA+40. The dialogue built on research drawn from the participation of the IGD at BAPA+40 and its engagement in a number of side events in Buenos Aires. The event brought together wide-ranging participants including scholars, academics, diplomats, government representatives, media and civil society.

De/Constructing White Supremacy: Contending Antipodal Politics in Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940)

Arguably, fear, anger and despair dominate the poor, uneducated, twenty-year-old Bigger Thomas’s daily existence in Richard Wright’s Native Son. Nevertheless, old lies of white supremacy that have held black people in perpetual turmoil are crushed through violent reaction when Bigger strikes at white hegemony through the killing of Mary Dalton. This backlash throws the white community into panic mode. Apparently, African Americans’ increased susceptibility to the inferiority complex of the 1930s was dictated by the dubious racial stratification that allotted a place of superiority to the white race over the black race, which was considered inferior. This misconception was supported by Arthur de Gobineau’s The Inequality of Human Races ([1853] 1915) and Lucien Levy-Bruhl’s How Natives Think (1926). Bigger’s humanity, like that of other African-American youth of this period, is overwhelmed by the racial prejudices of the supremacist whites which demand that they must be meek, submissive and self-debased. As summed up at the trial of Bigger, American society gives black people no options in life and essentially denies them the basic rights of all humans to fulfil their destiny in relationship to the measure of their intelligence and talents. These denials have led to anger, shame and fear which have snowballed into crime and murder. We may, without difficulty, agree that Wright’s portrayal of the killing of Mary is not in any way designed to make Bigger a hero of the black protest against racial marginality. Rather, Bigger is created to accentuate the effects of suffocating social conditions that could turn an individual into an American “native son” raised in an atmosphere of transcendental hopelessness and weaned on the diet of violence, hatred and viciousness which provided the immediate platform for the launching of a backlash against American racism. Using the foregoing as its standpoint, this article examines white/black antipodes and race tensions in Richard Wright’s Native Son. It employs the Freudian conceptual construct of the human psyche, divided into the id, ego and superego, as a theoretical framework. A parallel of the hypothesis is conceived to expound the white/black taxonomy in race discourse. In Freudian psychology, the id is irrational and it projects pleasure principles. The ego is, however, rational and mature, while the superego mediates between the id and the ego. These paradigms are used to explore the collective psyche of race theorists in the paper.

Humanising the Dehumanised: Emotion and Being in the Violence of the Islamic State (IS): An Alternative Perspective

This paper considers the effect of violence on the emotions of IS fighters and the resultant consequences of those emotions as a factor in their choice to use violence. By interrogating the human aspect of the fighters, I am focusing not on religion but on human agency as a factor in the violence. In this regard, this paper is about reorienting the question about the violence of IS not as “religious” violence but as a response to how these fighters perceive what is happening to them and their homeland. It is about politicising the political, about the violence of the state and its coalition of killing as opposed to a consistent effort to frame the violence into an explanation of “extremist religious ideology.” This shift in analysis is significant because of the increasing harm that is caused by the rise in Islamophobia where all Muslims are considered “radical” and are dehumanised. This is by no means a new project; rather it reflects the ongoing project of distortion of and animosity toward Islam, the suspension of ethics and the naturalisation of war. It is about an advocacy for war by hegemonic powers and (puppet regimes) states against racialised groups in the name of defending liberal values. Furthermore, the myth of religious violence has served to advance the goals of power which have been used in domestic and foreign policy to marginalise and dehumanise Muslims and to portray the violence of the secular state as a justified intervention in order to protect Western civilisation and the secular subject.

Forgoing the Bomb But Not the Technology: Understanding the Relationship Between Bolivian Foreign Policy and Nuclear Technology

Nuclear technology remains a critical point of interest for many states in the post-Cold War era either as they enhance their weapons arsenal and/or advance on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology. This can become problematic for smaller states that greater powers are suspicious of. Using Bolivia as a case study this article seeks to understand how Bolivia has accommodated the three pillars of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty into its foreign policy in an attempt to elude suspicion and develop atoms for peace. This investigation is undertaken by using desktop research that seeks to understand Bolivia’s stances toward nuclear weapons as well as its desires (and how it seeks to fulfil these desires) of obtaining peaceful nuclear technology. The findings suggest that Bolivia is fully compliant with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and is not discriminatory in the selection of its partners both at home and abroad as long as they share mutual interests and yield the best possible outcome for Bolivia. Furthermore, this research also reveals that Bolivia has been tactful in its alliance and partner formation so that those chosen help to elevate Bolivia’s international status. In conclusion, it is unquestionable that Bolivia has created some remarkable opportunities for itself thanks to its tactfulness; however, Bolivia also faces some key domestic economic realities that could hinder its ambitions.

African Development Expectations and Challenges at the G20 Summit in Argentina in 2018

The article unpacks key policy and development issues and priorities with regards to Africa’s development at the G20 Summit held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in November 2018. The core themes are industrial development challenges and opportunities for African economies as they integrate in the global economy, tracing structural issues such as commodity cycles, infrastructure and policy requirements for sustainable economic development in the fourth industrial revolution era. It unpacks the education and skills development requirements for Africa to effectively—and equitably—participate in the global knowledge economy. The study then details African industrialisation pathways and options from various academic perspectives in an increasingly competitive world

Argentina’s G20 Presidency: Agenda and Challenges

The assumption of the Group of 20 (G20) rotating presidency in December 2017 has created a meaningful window of opportunity for Argentina in order to wield its influence on the international agenda and build its reputation within the global arena. In addition, the Argentinean G20 presidency has become a significant chance to project a Southern and/or developing perspective within this global forum established to debate and address the most pressing economic and political international challenges. This article aims to analyse the agenda and challenges of the Argentinean G20 presidency. In so doing, it attempts to shed light on the following questions: What mechanisms or means will the Argentine Republic deploy in order to exert its influence on the group? Will Argentina represent the voice of Latin American and emerging countries or will it have an acquiescent behaviour towards the central powers? Will the Argentinean presidency be able to ease the group’s internal tensions? Finally, might the Argentinean presidency overcome the critics regarding the G20’s legitimacy?

Argentina’s G20 Presidency Implications for the G20–Africa Partnership

The Institute for Global Dialogue, in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) hosted a seminar at the Burgers Park Hotel in Pretoria on July 3, 2018, on the theme “Argentina’s G20 Presidency: Implications for the Africa–G20 Partnership.” The seminar sought to situate Argentina’s G20 presidency in the context of Latin America, and specifically its relations with the African continent. How will Argentina’s presidency frame Latin American–African relations in the context of the G20 partnership with Africa? How can African stakeholders utilise Argentinian priorities to achieve their own development priorities? Will Argentina position itself as a key actor in bringing a cohesive Latin American perspective to the G20? In light of Buenos Aires’ significance for South-South cooperation, what opportunities exist for advancing the interests of the Global South?

Aligning G20 Initiatives with Africa’s Development Priorities

The role of G20 and its impact on African and global policies have always been up for debate. Over the years since the establishment of the G20, policies ranging from climate change, financial flows and sustainable development have increasingly featured on the G20’s agenda. This agenda has expanded over the years to include much broader topics that are increasingly relevant to the global economic community. This has resulted in significant overlaps between the G20’s agenda and the African Union’s Development Agenda for 2063. These have been identified mainly because of the similarities across the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the G20 has strived to incorporate. However, aligning African interests with the G20 agenda remains a core priority particularly for the African continent, which is impacted by G20 policies. In order to reach the envisioned goals set out in Agenda 2063, African priorities need to be fully aligned with those of the G20. With greater inclusivity and representation of African representatives and priorities, combined with support for Africa’s development agenda, more can be achieved that will have a meaningful impact on reaching the goals of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

The Legacy of Argentina’s G20 Presidency in 2018: Priorities, Outcomes and Prospects

The Institute for Global Dialogue, in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), hosted a seminar at the Burgers Park Hotel in Pretoria on September 26, 2018, on the theme “The legacy of Argentina’s G20 Presidency in 2018: Priorities, Outcomes and Prospects.” The seminar, which was a follow-up to the seminar hosted previously during July 2018, sought to reflect on Argentina’s outgoing G20 presidency, in terms of the outcomes flowing from its agenda, the challenges and the prospects for the G20 agenda building on the 2018 priorities.