Political Geography: South Africa / Publication Year: within 10 Years

1. The New Development Bank’s Contribution to the Energy Transition Process in the BRICS Countries (2016-2023)

Author:: Maria Elena Rodriguez, Rafaela Mello Rodrigues de Sá, Octávio Henrique Alves Costa de Oliveira, and Renan Guimarães Canellas de Oliveira
Publication Date:: 12-2026
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: BRICS Policy Center
Abstract:: Considering the growing relevance of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) in the task of financing the global energy transition process, it is important to understand the efforts of these institutions to establish projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the most diverse sectors of the economy, and especially in the energy sector. This document looks specifically at the role that the New Development Bank (NDB) plays in this process, presenting an overview of its loan portfolio and targets in terms of contributions to the energy transition process. The NDB, also known as the BRICS Bank, stands out in its institutional strategies in the area of Clean Energy, one of its operational objectives, setting a target for the year 2026 of directing 40% of all its financing to projects aimed at climate change, including operations that contribute to the energy transition (NDB, 2022a, p. 28).
Topic:: Development, Banks, BRICS, Energy Transition, and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Iran, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Brazil, Ethiopia, Egypt, and United Arab Emirates

2. Trump’s Exit from the Paris Agreement: An Opportunity for the EU to Back South Africa’s Climate Leadership

Author:: Bongiwe Ngcobo-Mphahlele and Darlington Tshuma
Publication Date:: 03-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: In his address to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2025,[1] South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa – who currently chairs the G20, the first African leader to do so – outlined a bold and assertive agenda centred on global cooperation, inclusive growth and sustainable development. His address included a renewed call for transparency in the allocation of climate resources and the reform of the global financial architecture that has long been criticised as too rigid to support long-term sustainable development in the Global South.[2]
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Economics, and Sustainable Development
Political Geography:: Europe, South Africa, North America, and United States of America

3. Leveraging 4IR for Governance and Urban Development in Johannesburg

Author:: Mmabatho Mongae
Publication Date:: 02-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: Johannesburg’s ability to harness the transformative potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is hindered by persistent governance and administrative weaknesses. While the city scores well for service delivery and economic development, its poor rankings in planning, leadership, and administration on the Governance Performance Index suggest challenges in execution and institutional efficiency. While Johannesburg has demonstrated foresight in adopting 4IR policies – such as the Smart City Strategy – these efforts risk being undermined if governance bottlenecks remain unaddressed. This briefing highlights the critical role of strong leadership and efficient administration in ensuring that 4IR-driven initiatives do not exacerbate inequality, but instead respond to Johannesburg’s urban challenges. To maximize the benefits of 4IR, Johannesburg must strengthen governance structures, improve policy coordination, and foster equitable implementation, ensuring that technological advancements enhance service delivery, economic growth, and urban resilience for all residents.
Topic:: Governance, Economic Growth, Fourth Industrial Revolution, and Urban Development
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Johannesburg

4. Enhancing Local Governance: How the private sector can support data capacity in South Africa’s municipalities

Author:: Stuart Morrison and Nnaemeka Ohamadike
Publication Date:: 03-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: According to the World Bank’s Statistical Capacity Index1 , South Africa ranks among the highest on the African continent. This strong foundation positions the country at the forefront of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, particularly in leveraging government and open-access data to address national and subnational challenges. Cities like Cape Town and eThekwini have established Open Data Portals (ODPs) – online open-access data repositories that enhance transparency, improve service delivery tracking, and help identify pressing socioeconomic and infrastructure challenges. These portals not only benefit municipal decision-making but also provide businesses with valuable datasets to identify investment opportunities, market trends, and areas for social innovation.2 Despite these benefits, South Africa faces challenges in expanding and sustaining ODPs, particularly at the local government level. This presents a unique opportunity for the private sector to support local governments in the development and maintenance of ODPs. Using Cape Town and eThekwini as case studies, this report examines why private sector involvement in OPDs is crucial and how such partnerships can strengthen local governance, drive economic innovation, and foster inclusive urban development.
Topic:: Governance, Private Sector, Data, and Fourth Industrial Revolution
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

5. Fiscal policy and commodity price shocks in South Africa

Author:: Tumisang Loate and Vincent Dadam
Publication Date:: 04-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper investigates the effect of commodity price shocks in a commodity-exporting small open economy, and the role of fiscal policy in transmitting these shocks to the rest of the economy. Using South African data, we first estimate an empirical model using a Bayesian vector autoregression model. We then develop a New Keynesian small open economy with labour market hysteresis and commodity price shocks. We find that a commodity price shock typically has an expansionary effect as real GDP and employment increase, which translates into higher tax revenue. The results from our dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model match the data. In addition, despite not modelling the tradable and non-tradable sectors explicitly, we find that there is an opportunity cost associated with taxing the commodity sector more than home production. This results in a higher trade deficit and government spending. Consequently, we also explore the role of countercyclical fiscal policy during a commodity boom.
Topic:: Economy, Fiscal Policy, Hysteresis, and Commodity Price Shock
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

6. Carbon taxation and firm behaviour in emerging economies: Evidence from South Africa

Author:: Johannes Gallé, Rodrigo Oliveira, Daniel Overbeck, Nadine Riedel, and Edson Severnini
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of how firms in emerging economies respond to carbon taxation, leveraging detailed administrative data from South Africa—a potential trailblazer for other developing countries with limited state capacity amid the growing global push for carbon pricing. We examine the dynamic impacts of the carbon tax on firm-level outcomes—such as profits, sales, capital, and labour inputs—across manufacturing and mining firms, which are key sectors in the context of the carbon tax. Contrary to concerns that carbon taxes may hinder economic growth or reduce employment, our findings show no evidence of negative average impacts on firm performance or jobs. However, this overall result masks significant heterogeneity in the tax’s effects across sectors, driven by the sector-specific design elements of the South African carbon tax. Firms expecting higher effective tax rates may have intensified their use of emission-intensive machinery and depreciated capital in anticipation of the tax. This behaviour appears to stem from firms resolving regulatory uncertainty or seeking to recover costs from stranded assets.
Topic:: Employment, Economic Growth, Carbon Tax, and Emerging Economies
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

7. Twenty-five years of inflation-targeting in South Africa: Going from 6% to 3%?

Author:: Philippe Burger
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper proposes that the South African Reserve Bank should pursue a 3% inflation target, instead of the current 4.5% midpoint of a 3%-to-6% target range. Doing so may also result in lower inflation volatility, thereby reducing nominal exchange rate risk for investment and trade, and may thus support economic growth. Using a two-regime Markov-switching model, the analysis shows that since the global financial crisis, periods of higher inflation volatility are much shorter. Thus, inflation is relatively better anchored since the global financial crisis. But there are still shocks that coincide with periods of exchange rate volatility. Lastly, the analysis shows that the budget deficit/gross domestic product ratio, constraints on electricity supply, and administered prices contribute significantly to inflation, while the effect of real gross domestic product growth (as a demand variable) is limited. The analysis also argues that the sacrifice ratio, measuring the sacrifice of growth and employment that is required to reduce inflation, is of limited use once the potential role that other variables can play in the reduction of inflation and inflationary expectations is considered. The government has an especially significant role to play in supporting the South African Reserve Bank in lowering the inflation rate to an average of 3% by lowering the level and volatility of administered price inflation, reducing the budget deficit, and improving electricity supply.
Topic:: Budget, Investment, Inflation, Trade, and Deficit
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

8. The impact on developing economies of WTO dissolution

Author:: Lloyd Barton
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Oxford Economics
Abstract:: This report revisits the analysis presented in our April 2024 paper on the potential impact of WTO dissolution, drilling down to quantify national-level impacts for a sample of ten developing economies. Our previous report (The economic impact of abandoning the WTO) focused on presenting aggregated results for developing countries by region and income level. This report drills down to quantify impacts for a sample of ten individual countries: Brazil, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Guatemala, Indonesia, India, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam. These countries provide a rich, varied sample that captures the complexity of trade policy in the developing world. Their diversity in geography, economic size, policy orientation, and development stage allows for a nuanced analysis of how WTO dissolution could potentially influence pathways to higher incomes, poverty reduction and economic resilience. Our analysis reinforces the importance of ensuring the WTO can adapt to new trade realities and continue to function as an effective global trade body.
Topic:: Economics, Poverty, Trade, Economic Development, and WTO
Political Geography:: China, Indonesia, Turkey, India, South Africa, Brazil, Vietnam, Egypt, Guatemala, and Cameroon

9. Global Futures Bulletin: The BRICS and the Decarbonization and Biodiversity Protection Challenges

Author:: Igarapé Institute
Publication Date:: 01-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: The world faces an unprecedented convergence of environmental crises – climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss – that collectively threaten the planet’s ecological balance and humanity’s future. Reversing the Triple Planetary Crisis necessitates urgent and coordinated action across all sectors and countries, accelerating the transition to low-carbon economies while protecting biodiversity are key challenges for the coming years. Countries that have joined the BRICS in its inception (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are increasingly an important geopolitical force in current global politics, and their individual and collective action is key to the success of concerted global action. The group’s recent expansion – BRICS+ includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia joining in 2025 and Saudi Arabia finally formalizing its membership – offers an opportunity to boost the role of their New Development Bank (NDB) in bridging climate, biodiversity, and development finance, and aim for greater policy coherence for concerted global action across these agendas. Combined, BRICS countries are not only biodiversity and energy-rich but also contribute to a large share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This Strategic Paper examines the role of the expanded BRICS+ and explores whether and how this “mini-multilateral” grouping, with its considerable human and technological capacity, can address two major global challenges: accelerating decarbonization and protecting biological diversity. The discussion is framed around the opportunities and challenges faced by the member countries to increase their ambitions and become leading voices in these agendas – not only for BRICS countries (some of which are among the most biodiverse in the world) but also for the wider international community. Without a strong commitment by BRICS countries (individually and as a group) the world will fail to accelerate action on decarbonization and biodiversity protection.
Topic:: Climate Change, Pollution, BRICS, Decarbonization, Biodiversity, and Minilateralism
Political Geography:: Russia, China, South Africa, Brazil, and Global Focus

10. Neoliberalism’s True Heirs: What Late-Apartheid South Africa Can Teach Us About the Contemporary Far Right

Author:: Elizabeth Soer
Publication Date:: 04-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:: How can we make sense of the resurgence of the far right across the world? From the re-election of Donald Trump to the flourishing of Hindu nationalism under Narendra Modi, right-wing politicians have undoubtedly grown in prominence over the last decade. There is a burgeoning literature on this topic as scholars attempt to understand whether it is a backlash against neoliberalism, a reactionary form of neoliberalism, or simply a cultural phenomenon produced by increased global connectivity. This paper contributes to the vibrant discussion by examining an ideal yet overlooked case of ethno-nationalist neoliberalism – apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. This case reveals neoliberalism’s relationship to colonialism and its contribution to the perpetuation of white rule. South Africa has served as a test case for neoliberal ideas about race and economics and can thus contribute broader insights on the topic. The paper argues that the contemporary far right is not a backlash against neoliberalism, but a robust continuation of it. It draws on a vast range of archival sources from the late-apartheid period as well as the writings of prominent neoliberal thinkers to support this argument.
Topic:: Apartheid, Neoliberalism, Far Right, and Ethnonationalism
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

11. The Domestic Impact of the ICERD on TRC-Related Prosecutions in South Africa: A Story of Lost Opportunities for Post-Apartheid Justice

Author:: Ntokozo Sibanyoni
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD/the Convention) is a response to apartheid in pre-democratic South Africa. Article 6 obliges states to provide reparations to victims of discrimination. However, 31 years into its democracy, South Africa is haunted by a poor record of prosecuting apartheid. While popular discussions focus on the failure of the government to prosecute, this article focuses on the extent of the Convention’s domestic impact on the prosecutions. This contribution uses a working definition of domestic impact, which emphasises the efforts of all stakeholders in the state’s reporting process. The contribution relies on data collected through desktop research and semi-structured interviews with people working on race-related issues, to assess the extent to which article 6 of the Convention has been realized. Arguing that the Convention has made a delayed and limited impact on prosecutions, the article discusses factors that have hindered impact and provides recommendations towards the realisation of article 6 of the Convention.
Topic:: Apartheid, Transitional Justice, Justice, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

12. Long walk to realism: Climate cooperation to reset EU-South Africa relations

Author:: Arina Muresan and Sanusha Naidu
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Abstract:: South Africa’s blend of economic weight, regional influence and democratic resilience means the country remains a crucial partner for the EU in the global south. Despite longstanding trade ties, political divergences—over Ukraine, BRICS and Israel, for example—have strained EU-South Africa relations. South Africa’s coal dependence makes its energy transition both vital and challenging, while Europe urgently needs to boost its competitiveness and build resilient supply chains—making climate action an ideal platform for resetting their relationship. As such, the EU should move beyond seeking full political alignment and instead pursue a more pragmatic relationship with South Africa, focused on shared priorities like clean trade and green energy. Both sides should use structured platforms as well as multilateral forums such as the G20—hosted by South Africa this year—to foster targeted cooperation even amid broader political disagreements. If successful, this approach with South Africa could serve as a model for the EU to engage with other developing countries.
Topic:: Climate Change, Bilateral Relations, European Union, Realism, and Pragmatism
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, and South Africa

13. South Africa’s Cyber Strategy Under Ramaphosa: Limited Progress, Low Priority

Author:: Joe Devanny and Russell Buchan
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: During the decades of apartheid, South Africa was an international pariah. Since the country transitioned to majority rule in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has dominated politics, and the ANC has itself transitioned from a national liberation movement to a party of government. Domestically, South African cyber strategy should be seen as part of the ANC’s wider political challenge of trying to deliver economic growth, development, and prosperity. Over thirty years, the ANC has struggled to deliver on this agenda in a profoundly unequal society with infrastructure and institutions that have weakened particularly over the past fifteen years. Alongside confronting domestic challenges, the ANC has also tried to reshape South Africa’s global role. This was perhaps most visible under its first president, Nelson Mandela (1994–1999), but it was arguably pursued most systematically under Mandela’s successor, Thabo Mbeki (1999–2008). This reorientation of South Africa in the world was an ambitious and complex project, the foundations of which were the country’s leading role in its region and continent as well as its ties within the wider Global South. The project entailed tensions between the progressive promotion of human rights and freedoms, on the one hand, and the cultivation of instrumental relations with authoritarian and repressive states, on the other. These tensions continue to affect South African foreign policy, including its cyber diplomacy. South Africa identifies cybersecurity as a key national priority and has to this end adopted a national cybersecurity strategy and established a military Cyber Command. The reality, however, is that other issues have been consistently ranked above cybersecurity, such as addressing corruption, poverty, racial and social injustice, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Cybersecurity has therefore not been seen as a high priority by successive South African governments. This has left Cyber Command underresourced and unmotivated. This deprioritization means that South Africa is unlikely to emerge as a prominent military or intelligence cyber power anytime soon. The wider lack of national prioritization will also make it harder for so-called like-minded states—which are bound together by a mutual respect for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law—to form an effective partnership with South Africa on the topic of cybersecurity. South Africa’s approach to international cyber governance debates has been cautious and noncommittal, reflecting cyber diplomacy’s relatively low priority in its national strategy. What position South Africa takes in cyber debates is, however, of keen interest to the international community. An important question is whether South Africa will support the existing multistakeholder approach to cyber governance that is championed by like-minded states or join China and Russia in their efforts to recalibrate this approach and push for greater state control over cyberspace. Indeed, under President Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa has not yet published its national position explaining how international law applies to cyberspace. A related question is whether South Africa will join like-minded states in elaborating how existing international law applies to cyberspace or side with China and Russia to campaign for new, bespoke international law (for example, treaties) to regulate this domain. When examining these questions, it is important to recognize the context of the ANC’s long-standing ties with Russia, both during its thirty years in government and in its previous decades struggling for national liberation. This is helpful for understanding South Africa’s interactions with Brazil, Russia, India, and China (which form the BRICS bloc with South Africa) and forecasting its future positions in cyber governance debates. For example, South Africa has been reluctant to unambiguously condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and it appears to have supported Moscow by covertly supplying it with weapons. In the longer term, South Africa’s positions in cyber diplomacy debates will likely be shaped by trends in both domestic politics—such as the ANC’s waning electoral performance—and the success of digital development. In this context, it is perhaps advisable for like-minded states, such as the United States, to focus on cyber capacity-building assistance and ensure that these efforts play into the wider development agenda in South Africa.
Topic:: Corruption, Poverty, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, Democracy, and Racial Justice
Political Geography:: Africa, Iran, and South Africa

14. South Africa as a Leading Regional Power in Africa? An Analysis of the Implementation of the African Union, Auda-Nepad and Agenda 2063

Author:: Murilo Gomes da Costa
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The article analyzes South Africa’s role in the African Union’s Agenda 2063. It examines South Africa’s position as a leading regional power post-apartheid. The study contends that Pretoria has developed a strategy towards its region. The argument is supported by a descriptive analysis of the implementation of Auda-Nepad and South Africa’s efforts to broaden the thematic scope of the AU. The results show that South Africa’s strategy as a leading regional power in Africa has been achieved through Pretoria’s role as a paymaster in both the AU and Auda-Nepad, alongside the development of its own Agenda 2063 projects.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, African Union, and Regional Power
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

15. A Palestinian Gandhi or an Israeli de Gaulle? Why the Context of Violence Matters

Author:: Sharif Elmusa
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: Questioning why there hasn’t been a Palestinian Gandhi or Mandela ignores the history and context in which Palestinian resistance occurs, especially the abiding violence visited on the Palestinians since 1917
Topic:: Colonialism, Violence, BDS, Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli–Palestinian Conflict, Nelson Mandela, and Charles de Gaulle
Political Geography:: Middle East, India, Israel, South Africa, Palestine, and West Bank

16. Genocide on the Docket at the Hague

Author:: Omar Auf
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: International law is a tool for both oppression and emancipation, says AUC law professor Thomas Skouteris in this Q&A as he breaks down the intricacies of the ICJ’s January 26 order for provisional measures in South Africa v. Israel, and elucidates the present and future of international law.
Topic:: Genocide, International Law, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and 2023 Gaza War
Political Geography:: Israel, South Africa, Palestine, Gaza, and The Hague

17. Time to Renew an Old Promise? A Brief History of Global South Solidarity with Palestine

Author:: Bidisha Biswas
Publication Date:: 07-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: Anti-colonial and post-colonial politics have shaped global understandings of the Israel-Palestine conflict for decades, beyond the narrow vision of many Western countries
Topic:: Post Colonialism, Solidarity, and Israeli–Palestinian Conflict
Political Geography:: Middle East, South Africa, Palestine, and Global South

18. Watts happening to work? The labour market effects of South Africa’s electricity crisis

Author:: Haroon Bhorat and Timothy Köhler
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Frequent electricity outages threaten to impede the benefits of expanded access achieved by many developing countries in recent decades. A large literature documents these negative effects, however almost none consider labour market effects. This paper merges labour force survey microdata with high-frequency electricity supply and demand data to provide the first estimates of the relationships between outages and labour market outcomes in South Africa, a country characterized by frequent, severe outages referred to as load shedding. Exploiting temporal variation in outage incidence and intensity, we find that load shedding is associated with significantly lower employment rates, working hours, and earnings on average. Employment appears more sensitive relative to intensive margin outcomes, threatening job creation and preservation efforts. These negative relationships, however, are not evident for low levels of load shedding, but their strength markedly increases with load shedding intensity. We document further heterogeneity by firm size and industry, highlighting the vulnerability of jobs in manufacturing. Overall, our findings suggest that the South African labour market is largely insensitive to relatively low levels of load shedding; however, high levels appear especially costly.
Topic:: Employment, Economy, Electricity, and Labor Market
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

19. Market power and merger control in South Africa

Author:: C. Friedrich Kreuser, Michael Kilumelume, and Rulof Burger
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: We estimate structural, materials, and labour markups for the South African economy at the three-digit industry level for 2012–19. The fall in structural labour and materials markups found for the numerical majority of industries are generally isolated to smaller industries, with industries accounting for a higher proportion of sales generally experiencing smaller downward shifts. We show that materials-based markups are increasing over this period. Upward markup pressure in structural and labour markups are primarily driven by compositional shifts of surviving firms, while materials markup growth is driven by the average firm in a given sector. We show that merger intensity is positively related to structural markup growth, with a 1% increase in the proportion of cumulative mergers over 2013–18 being related to around a 0.27% increase in structural markup growth over the period from 2012 to 2019. We find that large vertical mergers are positively related to structural and materials markup growth while being negatively related to labour markup growth. Large horizontal mergers generally increase labour and structural markups.
Topic:: Markets, Economy, Industry, and Mergers and Acquisitions
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

20. How Has South Africa’s Membership of BRICS Intensified Uneven and Combined Development in the Country and Beyond?

Author:: Sinan Baran
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: The recent African scramble has resulted in uneven and combined development (UCD) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) throughout the 21st century due to unequal exchange. South Africa plays a sub-imperial role in this scramble in SSA. It both exploits and is exploited. The mining industry in South Africa has attracted interest from colonial powers, English-speaking businesses, and foreign investors, making it a highly lucrative sector. Furthermore, most black South Africans have been employed in the mining industry since the late 19th century. Over the past 25 years, the African National Congress government has utilised the mining industry to achieve economic transformation through black economic empowerment policies. This study proposes that the mining sector in South Africa is responsible for the ongoing UCD, despite receiving new investments and empowerment policies. South Africa’s inclusion in BRICS has broadened its range of international partners beyond its traditional Western or African counterparts. However, South Africa’s decision to join the BRICS group in 2011 has not yet yielded the expected transformation in the country’s economy and growth. As a result, it is uncertain whether South Africa’s BRICS membership has addressed the country’s persistent problem of UCD. This study argues that South Africa’s BRICS membership has exacerbated UCD in the country. This study proposes that Trotsky’s UCD analytical framework is useful for analysing South Africa’s policy choice to join BRICS, which strengthens its sub-imperial role.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, Mining, Industry, BRICS, Economic Transformation, Unequal Exchange, Sub-imperialism, and Transnational Capital
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

21. Economic Forced Migration in Southern Africa: The Case of Malawi

Author:: Cobbener Wilfred Sungani and Pascal Newbourne Mwale
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
Abstract:: As with other world regions, free market capitalism or the neoliberal system has caused numerous individuals and families to lose access to viable income-generating bases in Southern Africa. This places them in a socio-economically abject and precarious position. Resource-poor and unemployed Southern Africans have for a long time been forced to migrate to less unstable economies within the region. South Africa continues to be the most attractive destination for most poor and destitute Southern Africans. These people are called ‘economic refugees’ in the dominant literature. Hitherto, the plight of the Malawian ‘economic refugee’ in South Africa has not attracted much scholarly attention. Drawing on the interdisciplinary methodologies of African social philosophy and African social history, we present the case of Malawian economic refugees in South Africa. Drawing upon ideas derived from Immanuel Kant’s analysis in Perpetual Peace (1917), this paper argues for the promotion of the spirit of fraternity between South Africans and Malawian migrants
Topic:: Immanuel Kant, Forced Migration, Economic Refugee, and Fraternity
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Malawi

22. Investigating the Vulnerability of Foreign Migrants Businesses in Durban, South Africa, During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author:: Ayobami Popoola, Hangwelani Magidimisha-Chipingu, and Lovemore Chipungu
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
Abstract:: There is lack of empirical evidence on the vulnerability of immigrant businesses in Durban, South Africa, during the COVID-19 pandemic. To investigate this, data was collected during the pandemic to evaluate the vulnerability of immigrant businesses. The research adopted the quantitative approach, with a sample of fifty-three (53) Durban city immigrants small-scale business owners, to examine their business vulnerability. A linear regression model and correlation were used to analyse the data. The findings show that business insecurity increased immigrants' business vulnerability. Thus, without underestimating the COVID-19 pandemic effect, it was evident that urban insecurity resulting in xenophobic tendencies and incidences is the main factor/determinant/predictor that increases the vulnerability of foreign businesses. The study suggests that the documentation and analysis of foreign immigrants' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic can contribute to understanding the effects and consequences for immigrants across the globe. The study contributes to debates on immigrants' inclusion and seeks to fill the gap in the literature on immigrant business experience and survival in host communities.
Topic:: Migration, Immigrants, COVID-19, and Business Vulnerability
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

23. Accelerating GBVF Response Through Community-Led Platforms – Lessons from the Scorecard of the Localisation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide

Author:: Gugu Resha and Cathy-Ann Potgieter
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: his policy brief highlights the findings from the scorecard on the localisation of the NSP-GBVF, emphasising the areas of priority for all state and community-based actors as they continue to implement to objectives of the policy. This brief is intended to be used by organisations and community leaders working to strengthen efforts against GBVF, service providers providing protection, prevention and support to victims of GBV, stewards of safety and gender equality in public institutions, police representatives, CPF coordinators and business leaders seeking to make positive contribution to the efforts against GBVF towards gender justice and a violence-free South Africa.
Topic:: Crime, Gender Based Violence, Violence, Legislation, Domestic Violence, Femicide, and Community Initiatives
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

24. Empowering young voices: Using action research to combat xenophobia through children’s initiatives

Author:: Ruth Nyamadzawo
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conflict Trends
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: Since 1994, South Africa has seen an influx of refugees, asylum seekers, skilled professionals, and socio-economic migrants seeking security and better opportunities. However, this has led to challenges, including xenophobic violence. Despite efforts by civic organisations and the government, the problem persists. Therefore, there is a need for a mindset of peace to address the recurring violence. This article is concerned with exploring the problem of recurring xenophobia in South Africa by reviewing the approaches that have been followed in response to this phenomenon and proposing an alternative response of involving children in peacebuilding measures. It highlights the importance of empowering children and helping them develop the capacity to become agents of change, and raising them as peacebuilders in the communities where they reside. Underlining the role of educating for peace in transforming human society, it is believed that peace workshops could contribute to preparing young generations for sustaining positive relationships with those considered the ‘other,’ and thus consolidating peace in South Africa.
Topic:: Children, Discrimination, Youth, Xenophobia, Empowerment, Stigmatization, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

25. From Paper to Practice: Enhancing Integrated Development Plans to Improve Governance

Author:: Stuart Morrison and Pranish Desai
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) systems play an important role in ensuring that South Africa’s municipalities are able to effectively fulfil their core mandate of service delivery. One central component of this system is the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), a strategic framework used for several functions, including guiding key priorities and providing a roadmap for effectively delivering public services. However, even though most municipalities consistently submit IDPs, the quality of service delivery, especially amongst municipalities that have Water Services Authority responsibilities, is uneven. This raises the questions around which factors are more influential in determining effective service provision, and why they are lacking in dozens of municipalities. Using Good Governance Africa’s 2024 Governance Performance Index (GPI), this policy briefing provides a range of stakeholders with consolidated insights into how these issues can be addressed.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Services, Planning, Monitoring, and and Evaluation (PME)
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

26. Reversing the resource curse: Advancing good natural resource governance for inclusive growth and sustainable development in Southern Africa

Author:: Sikhululekile Mashingaidze and Stephen Buchanan-Clarke
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: The International Energy Agency’s Medium-Term Gas Outlook in late 2023 notes that “Africa accounted for nearly 40% of new natural gas discoveries globally in the past decade, mainly in Mozambique, Mauritania, Senegal and Tanzania. However, socio-political instability and security issues make Africa a high-risk environment for the gas industry. This results in a gap between the potential and the actual gas production projects under development.” Nonetheless, the Agency forecasts natural gas production growth of 10% (higher than current levels) by 2026. It had only grown by 2.5% from 2011 to 2021, and currently accounts for roughly 6% of global production.1 Asian and Middle Eastern markets’ demand will continue2 while African governments will bet on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). In the longer term, it is critical to phase out fossil fuels due to their exacerbation of global warming and health and environmental risks. Given the imperative for lowercarbon growth trajectories, demand for oil, gas, and coal will likely peak in 2024. Governments and mining investors’ negotiations and contracts should safeguard local populations through ecologically sensitive, responsible mining. Communities’ voices are critical to decision-making from project inception to ensure revenues usher in broad-based growth and increased domestic energy security. In 2022, Good Governance Africa (GGA), with support from the Southern Africa Trust (SAT), explored critical issues surrounding LNG exploration and development in Southern Africa in the context of climate change.3 This intelligence report is a consolidation of key lessons from these LNG projects’ impact on local communities in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado; South Africa’s Eastern Cape, and Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin. Together, these three cases illustrate both the promise and perils of LNG mining in Africa.
Topic:: Development, Natural Resources, Economic Growth, Sustainability, and Inclusion
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

27. Decentralising the Just Energy Transition: The role of the private sector in supporting municipalities

Author:: Mmabatho Mongae and Nnaemeka Ohamadike
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: With nearly 86% of its carbon dioxide (CO2) coming from coal, South Africa is one of the world’s most coaldependent countries.1 Additionally, it produces nearly a quarter of the continent’s total carbon emissions.2 Its economy is highly dependent on agriculture and mineral extraction, which are energy-intensive. Importantly, South Africa is subject to climate variability and change.3 The effects are exacerbated by dysfunctional municipalities’ limited ability to build climate resilience systems and ensure robust disaster risk management. With local government administrative instability, service delivery failures, and financial mismanagement highlighted by Good Governance Africa’s (GGA) Governance Performance Index (GPI), societal stakeholders bear the brunt of dysfunction, particularly amidst escalating climate-induced natural disasters, which further strain government resources. As such, the fight against climate change requires a coordinated response from government, the private sector, and citizens. Presently, citizens do not identify the private sector as a key stakeholder in mitigating climate change. This suggests that the private sector does not have a visible presence in the fight against climate change, thereby presenting the private sector with an opportunity to support the decentralisation of the just energy transition. These efforts can also form part of attempts by the private sector to mainstream Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) best practices.
Topic:: Climate Change, Governance, Economy, Carbon Emissions, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

28. Cultural Dynamics of Irregular Ethiopian Migration: Insights From Kembata Emigrants to the Republic of South Africa

Author:: Hailu Megersa and Tesfaye Tafesse
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:: Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:: This paper examines the cultural influences on irregular migration to South Africa from the Kembata-Tembaro Zone of Ethiopia. It reports on a mixed methods study, with a cross-sectional household survey (n = 316) to examine indicators about society’s perceptions, cultural values, and the impact of remittances on migration. In-depth interviews (n = 24) with migrant returnees and experts in the Kembata-Tembaro Zone Labor and Social Affairs Office explored their experiences and perceptions of irregular migration. The study established a connection between cultural influences and irregular migration of Ethiopians to the Republic of South Africa. Overall, the study demonstrates that the culture of migration among the Kembatas is primarily driven by a cumulative migration experience facilitated through migrant social networks. Economic incentives, such as prospects of better income and improved living conditions, are the main drivers for individuals to embark on this migratory journey. In addition, social factors, including familial networks, community ties, and remittances from migrants, significantly influence households’ attitudes toward migration. The paper ends with recommendations to address the problems related to irregular Ethiopian migration to South Africa, to enhance the well-being of Kembata emigrants, and to maximize the benefits of migration.
Topic:: Migration, Social Networks, Irregular Migration, and Kembata
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Ethiopia

29. South Africa’s G20 Presidency: Tapping into Africa’s Potential through Financial, Climate and Food System Reform

Author:: Darlington Tshuma and Bongiwe Ngcobo-Mphahlele
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Both the G20 and BRICS+[1] are critical global groupings for economic and geostrategic reasons. Thirty years ago, G7 countries constituted nearly 70 per cent of the global economy. In contrast, by 2024, the BRICS+ bloc accounted for approximately 35 per cent of the world’s GDP, compared to the 30 per cent held by G7 countries.[2] Meanwhile, G20 countries represent 85 per cent of the global economy, 75 per cent of global trade, and 62 per cent of the world’s population.[3] This shift underscores the growing influence and significance of emerging economies. South Africa’s membership in the G20 and BRICS+ attests to the country’s role as an economic and political powerhouse – both on the African continent and increasingly in the global South. In 2025, South Africa will assume the presidency of the G20 – the first African country to do so, taking over from Brazil. At a moment of heightened geopolitical tensions and a fragmented international system characterised by multiple and simultaneous crises, including the climate and energy crisis, and the Russian-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine wars, can South Africa’s G20 presidency be an opportunity to reshape global governance? Founded in 1999 in response to the global financial crisis, the G20 is the main forum for international cooperation and plays an important role in defining and strengthening global architecture and governance. South Africa’s presidency should consolidate priority issues established by the Brazilian government but anchor on three critical issues: reform of the global financial architecture, climate change and a just energy transition and sustainable food systems. A policy focus on these issues will lay a foundation for the continent’s leapfrogging.
Topic:: Climate Change, Reform, G20, and Food Security
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

30. Climate Change Act and the role of local government

Author:: Busisipho Siyobi
Publication Date:: 11-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: South Africa’s response to addressing climate change has come full circle with the passing of the Climate Change Act1 in July 2024. This breakthrough comes at a time when South Africa is warming by approximately 0.2°C per decade2 , contributing to climate impacts ranging from extreme heat and drought to sea level rise and flooding. The results of these extreme weather events have been devasting to livelihoods and, subsequently, socio-economic development, which have been worsening over the years. The Climate Change Act is a significant step, as it shows progression and commitment to advance South Africa’s climate resilience, and to see it through achieving a just energy transition. However, the success of the overall climate change response is only as strong as its implementation. This policy briefing will assess the Act and provide a roadmap on how it can be effectively operationalised to achieve its mandate.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Resilience, and Local Government
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

31. Improving water governance in South Africa to ensure a water-secure country

Author:: Leleti Maluleke
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: This policy briefing outlines the pressing water challenges facing South Africa and proposes recommendations to address them. Among these are increasing water insecurity, including severe droughts, inadequate water conservation measures, outdated infrastructure, and unequal access to water resources. We outline some of the existing policies and frameworks to address these challenges and provide recommendations for strengthening water governance in general. The briefing emphasises the need for immediate action to safeguard water security and ensure equitable access to clean water.
Topic:: Security, Water, Infrastructure, and Governance
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

32. Inclusive biodiversity conservation and the unsustainability of ‘sustainable use’

Author:: Ross Harvey
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: The South African Government’s Reviewed National Biodiversity Economy Strategy (2024) continues to promote trophy hunting as a conservation tool. This policy briefing challenges this approach, arguing that trophy hunting, particularly of endangered species, should be removed from the national biodiversity strategy due to overstated economic benefits and high ecological costs. Instead, the briefing suggests exploring sustainable, non-consumptive alternatives to trophy hunting. Successful pilot programmes should be expanded, integrating local communities into ecotourism and conservation-enhancing agriculture. This strategy aims to join fragmented landscapes into larger, ecologically sustainable areas, providing sustainable livelihoods while conserving biodiversity. Moreover, the current focus on consumptive use, such as game ranching and trophy hunting, needs re-evaluation. This philosophy creates unrealistic revenue expectations and promotes fundamentally unsustainable practices. The briefing emphasises the need to prioritise ecological sustainability over consumptive use, aligning with the constitutional duty to protect the environment for future generations. These recommendations are based on the analysis that the economic value of trophy hunting is often inflated and that the opportunity costs are significant. Non-consumptive alternatives can better support both conservation and community livelihoods, ensuring a genuinely inclusive conservation strategy.
Topic:: Conservation, Sustainability, Hunting, and Biodiversity
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

33. Decarbonisation and Compliance: Assessing the impact of the Climate Change Act on South Africa’s extractives industry

Author:: Vincent Obisie-Orlu
Publication Date:: 11-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: The Climate Change Act establishes a regulatory framework for decarbonisation in South Africa’s extractives sector, aligning with Paris Agreement commitments. Key provisions include sectorspecific emissions reduction targets, carbon budgets, and mandatory monitoring and reporting. While enforcement issues and resource limitations exist, companies must prioritise emissions tracking and internal carbon pricing. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) imperatives already incentivise companies in this direction. Investors increasingly direct capital towards companies that demonstrate effective emissions management. Successful adaptation strategies and alignment with national goals are essential for companies to enhance sustainability and attract investment. Collaboration among stakeholders is critical for effectively implementing the Climate Change Act.
Topic:: Climate Change, Carbon Emissions, Compliance, and Decarbonization
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

34. A theory of discriminatory institutions, with applications to apartheid and to the political economy of migration

Author:: James P. Choy
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:: Institutions in some societies force employers to discriminate. I develop a theory of institutionalized discrimination. Optimal discrimination sorts workers from different social groups into complementary tasks. Workers in the politically dominant social group benefit from complementary labor supplied by oppressed group workers, but are harmed by competition from oppressed group workers for access to non-labor factors of production. The tradeoff between these two forces determines whether ethnic cleansing, institutionalized discrimination, or free labor markets are optimal for workers in the dominant group. I apply the model to apartheid South Africa and to the regulation of migrant labor in contemporary economies.
Topic:: Apartheid, Migration, Political Economy, Discrimination, and Institutions
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

35. South African Elections 2024: The Results and Implications for the Region and Beyond

Author:: Pranish Desai, Daniel de Kadt, Rorisang Lekalake, Lwanda Maqwelane, and Evan Lieberman
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: SPEAKERS Pranish Desai is a senior data analyst at Good Governance Africa, a research and advocacy organization headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. His work at GGA focuses on the issues of subnational governance in Southern Africa, political accountability, coalition politics in South Africa and encouraging data-driven policymaking within the region. Pranish is an incoming doctoral student at MIT. Daniel de Kadt works as an assistant professor at the London School of Economics, where he is an affiliate of the Data Science Institute and a senior visiting fellow in government. Prior to this he worked at the University of California, Merced, after completing his PhD at MIT. He has written extensively on the electoral politics of South Africa. Rorisang Lekalake is a senior analyst/methodologist for Afrobarometer, charged with contributing to the organization’s analytical outputs, strengthening existing methodologies, and contributing to building the capacity of network staff and partners in quantitative research methods and analysis. She is a 2023 PhD recipient from MIT. Lwanda Maqwelane, a PhD candidate at Rhodes University, is an early career research activist with a focus on policy development, just energy transitions and climate change education. She currently serves as a researcher at the Center for Researching Education and Labour at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. MODERATOR Evan Lieberman is the Total Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa and the director of the MIT Center for International Studies. He also directs the Global Diversity Lab (GDL) and MIT’s global experiential learning program, MISTI. His most recent book is Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa after Apartheid (Princeton University Press, 2022).
Topic:: Elections, Domestic Politics, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

36. Economic impacts of electricity supply shortages in South Africa

Author:: Hiroaki Suenaga
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This study examines the sectoral impacts of electricity supply shortages in South Africa, using the cost share information available from the 2015 social accounting matrix. A simulation conducted under each of two technological assumptions, Cobb-Douglas and Leontief, reveals that a productivity decline in the electricity, gas, steam, and hot water supply (EGSH) sector increases the price of the EGSH sector substantially, while it affects the other sectors marginally due to the small cost shares of the EGSH factor in these sectors. The total cost of supplying the baseline final demand increases by ZAR19 billion or 0.46% of the baseline gross value added (GVA) when EGSH productivity declines by 10%. This cost impact expands to ZAR150 billion or 3.57% of GVA when EGSH productivity is halved. Large shares of these cost increments are incurred by the EGSH and manufacturing sectors, owning to the direct physical impact of productivity decline for the former and a large share of its sectoral GVA in the aggregate economy for the latter. The simulation also indicates that the equilibrium wage should increase by a greater extent for workers with a lower education than for those with a higher education if the baseline final demands are to be met at the higher EGSH output price after the sector’s productivity decline
Topic:: Economy, Manufacturing, Electricity, Supply, and Productivity
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

37. Tax financing options for new social protection instruments: The equity implications of taxing more to expand the South African social security system

Author:: Maya Goldman and Ntuthuko Hlela
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: In this paper, we use a static fiscal incidence analysis model to evaluate the poverty and inequality impacts of using fiscal policy to finance expanded social spending in South Africa. We assess three methods to enhance the social protection system’s equity objectives: increasing the size and/or coverage of the existing Social Relief of Distress grant and introducing a universal or working-age basic income grant. The implications of financing these reforms are examined using four tax instruments: increasing the value-added tax rate, increasing personal income tax rates, reducing the personal income tax primary annual rebate, and introducing a surcharge on incomes. While we discuss behavioural effects, they are not included in the model. Our analysis indicates that an expansion of the social security system financed through increased taxation could substantially reduce poverty and inequality to varying degrees depending on the taxes and transfers used.
Topic:: Poverty, Inequality, Tax Systems, Fiscal Policy, Social Spending, and Cash Transfers
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

38. The sustainability of South African fiscal policy

Author:: Philippe Burger
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: The public-debt-to-GDP ratio in South Africa increased from 26 per cent in the 2008/09 fiscal year to 73.9 per cent in 2023/24, raising fears that fiscal policy is not sustainable. This raises the question: did the government take steps to arrest the increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio and regain fiscal sustainability, and if so, why did they fail? Establishing fiscal sustainability can be done directly or indirectly. Doing it directly entails the government increasing the primary balance in reaction to higher debt levels. Hence, this paper presents a fiscal reaction function. The analysis shows that during the period in which the public-debt-to-GDP ratio rose, the primary balance did indeed react to an increased debt burden, but its level remained too low to arrest the increase in the public-debt-to-GDP ratio. The analysis also assesses whether fiscal fatigue set in, wherein the responsiveness of the primary balance to the debt burden is positive but eventually weakens. Some evidence for the presence of fiscal fatigue is present. One indirect approach to establishing fiscal sustainability is through the impact of expenditure and revenue on economic growth. Leaving revenue for further study later, this paper presents an adapted growth equation to investigate the impact on growth of general government investment and consumption expenditure, and of public (and private) corporation investment. While the effect of private sector investment is positive, neither general government nor public corporation investment has a statistically significant impact on growth. Furthermore, government consumption has a negative impact on growth.
Topic:: Investment, Fiscal Policy, Deficit, Sustainability, and Public Debt
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

39. Spillover effects of the recent US monetary policy shocks on the South African economy: The role of monetary and fiscal policy coordination

Author:: Guangling Liu and Marrium Mustapher
Publication Date:: 11-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This study examines how different policy mix regimes affect the impact of recent US contractionary monetary policy on South Africa’s inflation and business cycles. The study uses a small open economy New Keynesian Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model with an integrated fiscal block to analyse these effects. Regime M (active monetary policy) is more effective at containing the spillover effects but leads to higher public debt, requiring larger future fiscal surpluses. The commitment to price stability under Regime M increases real interest rates, raising domestic debt service costs and the debt-to-GDP ratio. Regime F (active fiscal policy), in contrast, stabilizes debt more quickly but at the cost of higher inflation, as it does not use future surpluses to manage public debt. These spillover effects are more amplified under both Regime M and Regime F in the case of a complete exchange rate pass-through and a higher degree of trade openness, with Regime F exhibiting a stronger amplification effect.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Economics, Monetary Policy, Inflation, and Fiscal Policy
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, North America, and United States of America

40. Dancing on the grid: electricity crises, manufacturing energy vulnerability, and jobs in South Africa

Author:: Gideon Ndubuisi, Elvis Korku Avenyo, and Rex Asiama
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: South Africa’s current electricity crises have worsened, placing the country on an uncertain and turbulent economic trajectory. To identify the manufacturing sub-sectors that are most vulnerable to this crises, we use the input–output matrices for the period between 1993 and 2021 to develop a sub-sector energy vulnerability index. Second, we employ the self-constructed energy vulnerability index in a flexible empirical framework to examine the effect of the electricity crises on manufacturing sector jobs in the country. We find that energy vulnerability has a high degree of heterogeneity across manufacturing sub-sectors, highlighting cross-sector differences in the level of exposure and susceptibility to the energy-related crises. Results from the empirical analysis, on the other hand, suggest that electricity crises are associated with significant job destruction, with this adverse effect severe for manufacturing sectors with higher energy vulnerability intensity. The severity of this adverse effect holds irrespective of the nature of jobs, whether formal or informal.
Topic:: Crisis Management, Manufacturing, Electricity, Vulnerability, and Jobs
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

41. Economic geography determinants of spatial wage disparities in South Africa: Evidence from a firm‐level panel

Author:: Sanduku Mulumba, Lawrence Edwards, and David Fadiran
Publication Date:: 08-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: In this paper, we use the new economic geography (NEG) framework to estimate the extent to which spatial wage disparities in the South African manufacturing sector are an outcome of economic forces such as market access. To test the relationship, we use the anonymized tax data on employers and employees made available by the South African Revenue Service and National Treasury in collaboration with UNU-WIDER. We first document the key stylized facts that characterize the spatial distribution of wages across regions in South Africa using exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) techniques. We then test for the existence of a wage structure across South African local and metropolitan municipalities, controlling for individual and firm characteristics using a two-stage estimation method. Consistent with the NEG predictions, we find that wages are higher in municipalities that are closer to large markets, as measured by the Harris market potential index. However, much of the wage effect is driven by the income and employment density of the municipality’s own market, and not that of surrounding areas. These results point to a combination of large spatial rigidities leading to highly localized effects of market potential, together with wage and productivity effects arising from urban agglomeration economies.
Topic:: Economics, Manufacturing, Wages, and Market Access
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

42. The State of Torture Report

Author:: Sinqobile Makhathini, Amina Mwaikambo, and Cathy-Ann Potgieter
Publication Date:: 11-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: Torture in South Africa has a complex and troubling history rooted in colonial and apartheid practices, where torture was used frequently by state security forces to suppress dissent and control Black and marginalised communities. Despite legal reforms during the post-apartheid dispensation, concerns about torture and ill-treatment persist, often associated with law enforcement practices and conditions in detention centres. Challenges therefore remain in fully eradicating torture practices and ensuring accountability within the justice and law enforcement systems. This report aims to examine the prevalence and persistence of torture in South Africa to assess the current gaps in legal protections, as well as provide recommendations for enhanced monitoring, accountability, and victim support.
Topic:: Torture, Law Enforcement, Accountability, and Protection
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

43. The role of political compromise in South Africa’s Government of National Unity: Balancing competing interests for stability and peacebuilding

Author:: Mahlatse Ragolane and Nthabiseng Gratitude Khoza
Publication Date:: 11-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conflict Trends
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: The transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa remains a defining global moment in history emblematic of how political compromise can transform a divided society. Central to this transformation was the establishment of the Government of National Unity (GNU), a power-sharing arrangement that functioned from 1994 to 1997. GNUs are generally formed with the aim of bringing together the broadest possible spectrum of political interests in response to a crisis. GNUs are formed to achieve national interests, such as nation-building, social order, and peace and stability.1 After a peaceful transition in 1994, South Africa was readmitted as a member of the international community of nations. This time, it was recognised as a constitutional democratic state, relinquishing its pariah status. The effort to establish South Africa’s position in international relations began earnestly, guided by its foundational values and principles, as enshrined in the Constitution.2 The GNU was an unprecedented act of political compromise created to address deep-rooted historical grievances, while managing the competing interests of various political actors. Fast forward to 2024, and the political landscape in South Africa leading up to the recent elections was marked by significant shifts and uncertain developments. This is due to the rise of small parties, declining support for traditional parties, such as the African National Congress (ANC), and increasing public dissatisfaction with governance, which created an environment characterised by uncertainty and fragmentation.3 This environment set the stage for the formation of the GNU – a coalition formation driven by the need to stabilise a fractured political environment and address deep-seated socioeconomic challenges. South Africa has now entered an era of multi-party governance across all three spheres of government.4 Unlike the historic GNU of 1994, which emerged from the widespread recognition of the merits of compromise among the most significant political actors5 and the fight against injustices by ANC and other movements, the 2024 GNU was born out of electoral necessity and a fragmented electorate. This development is likely to influence changes to the existing governance framework to facilitate cooperative and stable governance across the three spheres of government.6 South Africa is at a pivotal moment and needs to ensure the stabilisation of the political landscape, while simultaneously laying the foundations for peace, reconciliation and sustainable development. While the diverse perspectives within a GNU can lead to adaptive and responsive policies, the need for consensus can also result in rigid compromises that slow down the government’s ability to act swiftly in response to stability and peacebuilding.7 This article delves into the intricacies of the GNU, focusing on how political compromise can be used as a tool to balance competing interests and promote stability, peace and governance in South Africa.
Topic:: Governance, Elections, Political stability, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

44. When Diplomats Are Undiplomatic

Author:: Charles Ray
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
Abstract:: The US ambassador to South Africa recently accused South Africa of shipping arms to Russia. The ambassador was criticized by some—including the South African government—for breaking with diplomatic protocol by so openly condemning his host government. However, maintaining an effective working relationship does not mean that a diplomat must never say or do anything that the host country might not like. Far from it. Effective diplomacy is built on trust, honesty, and respect, and the diplomat who never disagrees or who comes across as a sycophant, will be neither trusted nor respected. On the other hand, a diplomat who is consistently honest, but who strives to be polite and considerate, might not be universally liked, but will earn respect.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Weapons, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Russia, South Africa, and United States of America

45. Hamas Allegations Threaten Another Breakdown in US-South Africa Ties

Author:: Michael Walsh
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
Abstract:: A reported call between South African Minister Naledi Pandor and Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh has renewed concerns that the African National Congress and government of South Africa are undermining US national security and foreign policy in the Middle East. This incident comes quickly on the heels of a springtime allegation that the African National Congress and South African government undermined US national security and foreign policy with respect to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Over the summer, members of Congress called into question the eligibility of South Africa for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and its suitability to host the AGOA Forum. This was in response to the prior allegation that South Africa transferred arms or enabling technologies to Russia. Prior to next month’s AGOA Forum, there is an expectation that the AGOA eligibility determinations for 2024 will be delivered to Congress. This sets the stage for another potential showdown over the AGOA eligibility of South Africa and its suitability to host the AGOA Forum. At this stage, it is unlikely that South Africa will be deemed ineligible for AGOA trade benefits or removed as the host of the AGOA Forum. However, a political debate over its AGOA eligibility could cast a long shadow over the event and lead to another breakdown in the strategic partnership between South Africa and the United States. The White House will want to avoid both of those outcomes.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, National Security, Bilateral Relations, and Hamas
Political Geography:: Africa, Israel, South Africa, Palestine, and United States of America

46. Verifying Nuclear Disarmament: Lessons Learned in South Africa, Iraq and Libya

Author:: Robert E. Kelley
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract:: Inspections in the 1990s and early 2000s in South Africa, Iraq and Libya were designed to discover the details of nuclear weapon programmes and destroy any remnants. As the global norm against nuclear weapons strengthens, the international community may once more require verification of a state’s denuclearization. But success in the three earlier cases does not guarantee success in the next similar task—any future inspection mission must learn from the lessons of the past. This report draws on the unique experience of Robert E. Kelley, a participant in all three past denuclearization efforts. In it, he gives an account of the unique scale and circumstances of each investigation and the different tools and approaches required. By publicly documenting and comparing obstacles and successes in the three cases for the first time, this report gives meaningful and practical insight into the difficult work of disarmament and its verification. It is an essential resource for future inspectors—and all others interested in what real disarmament looks like on the ground.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Disarmament, and Transparency
Political Geography:: Africa, Iraq, Middle East, Libya, South Africa, and North Africa

47. Growth Through Inclusion in South Africa

Author:: Ricardo Hausmann, Tim O'Brien, Andrés Fortunato, Alexia Lochmann, and Kishan Shah
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: It is painfully clear that South Africa is performing poorly, exacerbating problems such as inequality and exclusion. The economy’s ability to create jobs is slowing, worsening South Africa’s extreme levels of unemployment and inequality. South Africans are deeply disappointed with social progress and dislike the direction where the country seems to be heading. Despite its enviable productive capabilities, the national economy is losing international competitiveness. As the economy staggers, South Africa faces deteriorating social indicators and declining levels of public satisfaction with the status quo. After 15 years, attempts to stimulate the economy through fiscal policy and to address exclusion through social grants have failed to achieve their goals. Instead, they have sacrificed the country's investment grade, increasing the cost of capital to the whole economy, with little social progress to show for it. The underlying capabilities to achieve sustained growth by leveraging the full capability of its people, companies, assets, and knowhow remain underutilized. Three decades after the end of apartheid, the economy is defined by stagnation and exclusion, and current strategies are not achieving inclusion and empowerment in practice. This report asks the question of why. Why is the economy growing far slower than any reasonable comparator countries? Why is exclusion so extraordinarily high, even after decades of various policies that have aimed to support socio-economic transformation? What would it take for South Africa to include more of its people, capabilities, assets, and ideas in the functioning of the economy, and why aren’t such actions being undertaken already? The Growth Lab has completed a deep diagnostic of potential causes of South Africa’s prolonged underperformance over a two-year research project. Building on the findings of nine papers and widespread collaboration with government, academics, business and NGOs, this report documents the project’s central findings. Bluntly speaking, the report finds that South Africa is not accomplishing its goals of inclusion, empowerment and transformation, and new strategies and instruments will be needed to do so. We found two broad classes of problems that undermine inclusive growth in the Rainbow Nation: collapsing state capacity and spatial exclusion.
Topic:: Inequality, Economic Growth, Unemployment, and Inclusion
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

48. MIT X TAU Series: Africa’s New Activists

Author:: Busisiwe Seabe and Claude Grunitzky
Publication Date:: 05-2023
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: The fourth webinar in the third annual webinar series focused on various aspects of sustainable development in Africa. Featuring: Busisiwe Seabe is a social justice activist in South Africa and a co-founder of the #FeesMustFall movement.
Topic:: Development, Social Justice, and Activism
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

49. Wage inequality, firm characteristics, and firm wage premia in South Africa

Author:: Shakeba Foster
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper investigates the role of firm characteristics in driving wage inequality and firm wage premia in the South African labour market. The Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (AKM) and Kline, Saggio, and Sølvsten (KSS) regression-based decomposition methods are applied to matched employer–employee administrative tax data for the period 2011–19. Additionally, the Theil index is used as a comparative tool for estimating wage inequality, given that the variance of logarithms applied in the regression-based decomposition methods has been established as an imprecise measure of inequality. The results show significantly high dispersion in wages, as estimated by both the AKM and the KSS methods as well as the Theil index, reaffirming the extent of high inequality in the country. Worker and firm characteristics account for 35 per cent and 18 per cent of wage dispersion, respectively, with a positive worker–firm covariance accounting for 11 per cent. Firm size, industry, profits, geographical location, and whether firms are locally or foreign-owned are found to be important in driving firm wage premia.
Topic:: Labor Issues, Inequality, Economy, and Wages
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

50. A reform option for pension fund contribution as tax expenditure in South Africa

Author:: Ada Jansen, Winele Ngobeni, and Wynnona Steyn
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: South Africa has a progressive broad-based personal income tax system with relatively few tax expenditures. The two most important are the medical contribution plus additional tax credits for medical expenses, and the deductions allowed for retirement contributions. A pertinent question for tax reform in South Africa is whether redistributive gains can be achieved by restructuring expenditures in the personal income tax system. This paper considers the redistributive implications of converting the tax deduction for retirement contributions to a tax credit. This would build on the gains achieved by introducing a medical tax credit system in 2012. We analyse the tax revenue gains/losses of income groups and in total in terms of distributional effects and progressivity outcomes using a static microsimulation model based on data for the 2019/20 tax year. We find a high concentration of taxpayers in terms of taxable income and retirement contributions. The concentration of contributions is highly skewed towards lower- and middle-income earners, whose annual contribution amounts are low compared with higher-income earners. We recommend a conversion rate that considers the current distribution of taxpayers contributing to retirement funds. Converting the pension contribution deduction to a tax credit would raise additional revenue and make the tax system more progressive, benefiting low-income earners with marginal tax rates of less than the proposed conversion rate. The revenue gained would provide increased fiscal space to fund social expenditure or reduce government debt. Further distributional and behavioural analyses are needed on low-income earners and those earning below/above the minimum tax threshold, to refine understanding of the impact on low-and middle-income earners’ contributions to retirement funds.
Topic:: Economics, Reform, Tax Systems, and Pension
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

51. Climate Change and Trade to the EU Priority Sectors for Policy Intervention in South Africa

Author:: Jason F. Bell, Sumayya Goga, and Nishal Robb
Publication Date:: 07-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:: The deepening climate crisis has resulted in countries instituting a range of measures to curb emissions. The European Union (EU) has the most advanced climate policies, captured under the umbrella of its European Green Deal (EGD). While many of the measures being implemented impact countries within the EU, the measures are expected to impact Europe’s trading partners. The impacts on trading partners is occurring through changing regulations and policies such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), shifting consumer preferences, and impacts through value chains as a result of changing competitiveness of end products. EGD policies are forcing trading partners to the EU to adjust and decarbonise production processes, measure and report on emissions and other sustainability criteria, and, in some cases, even transform sectors to retain market share (the move towards electric vehicles). These policies include, among others, carbon taxes through the CBAM, the move towards electric vehicles in order to curb emissions, and a range of measures within the food sector. Together, these policies bring significant changes in the global trading system and the functioning of value chains. The costs associated with adjusting to these policies are high. Furthermore, these costs need to be borne by developing countries over and above the adaptation costs.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Development, European Union, and Trade
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, and South Africa

52. Sustainability in the South African Wine Industry: Status, Opportunities and Challenges

Author:: Reena das Nair, Shingie Chisoro, and Stefano Ponte
Publication Date:: 09-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:: South Africa has been a pioneer in developing a variety of sustainability programmes and initiatives from farm to bottle, placing it at the forefront of sustainability in the global wine industry. In addition to global sustainability standards, such as Fairtrade and organics, and standards applied by retailers in the Global North, domestic sustainability initiatives and regulations have also been developed since the late 1990s. The existence of sustainability initiatives however does not automatically entail that they are easing the local environmental impacts of viticulture and winemaking, that working conditions are necessarily improving, or that there has been more inclusive participation and ownership by historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs). In this working paper, we unpack whether, how and to what extent different demands and initiatives on sustainability are reshaping the functioning of the wine industry in South Africa and with what benefits for whom. We examine the various sustainability programmes and initiatives in South African wine and assess the implications for costs, investments and profitability of actors in the value chain. Furthermore, to provide a sense of how South Africa fares in the international arena, we also undertake a comparison with sustainability initiatives in the Italian wine industry. We frame sustainability initiatives in broad terms, covering environmental, social and economic sustainability. The growing effects of climate change globally demand that grape growers adapt from an environmental perspective. The pressure for social sustainability emanates from the highly skewed patterns of ownership by HDPs, legacies of racialised inequalities, and a tainted history of poor worker conditions on farms and cellars. We also cover economic sustainability, as it both affects and is affected by environmental and social sustainability initiatives and is critical for the future of commercial production. The research results presented here are part of a larger project funded by the Danish Independent Research Fund Denmark (Project #0133-00046B) on ‘Power and inequality in global production systems’ (PIPS) that also covers industrial fisheries in South Africa and the salmon and wine industries in Chile (with Stefano Ponte as the PI). This paper is focused on presenting the main empirical findings of this part of the project and is targeted at a broad audience. It is built on feedback we received on an earlier version that was discussed with South African industry actors at a webinar on 28 June 2023. More analytical and theoretical publications will follow in selected academic journals.
Topic:: Environment, Labor Issues, Governance, Business, Sustainability, Production, and Wine Industry
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

53. Interrogating the legality, appropriateness and sustainability of vigilantism against migrants in South Africa

Author:: Charity Mawire and Clayton Hazvinei Vhumbunu
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conflict Trends
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: Since mid-2021, in the period preceding the run-up to the South African Municipal Elections that took place on 1 November 2021 to elect councils for district, metropolitan and local municipalities, South Africa experienced a rise of vigilantism against migrants and anti-immigration activism. Vigilantism against migrants and anti-immigration activism existed before 1994 and in the post-apartheid era, and it has often resulted in, or triggered, xenophobic attacks and xenophobic violence. However, it is the emergence of anti-immigration groups that has given rise to some community members, especially in urban areas, conducting vigils aimed at enforcing the country’s immigration laws and labour laws relating to the employment of foreign nationals. The communities are also focused on enforcing compliance with municipal by-laws on the regulation, control and licencing required for hiring and use of municipal premises and facilities for trading by foreign nationals, and the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants (FCD) Act 54 of 1972 together with public health regulations relating to the alleged selling of expired, contaminated, unsafe, unhygienic or counterfeit food and food products by foreign nationals mostly operating spazas or small shops. Anti-immigration groups include Operation ‘Dudula’, the social media-based Put South Africa First Movement, the South Africa First Party, and All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF), among others. Vigilantism against migrants in South Africa rose in intensity, scale and scope in the first quarter of 2022, reaching disturbing levels on 7 April 2022, when a Zimbabwean national living in South Africa, Elvis Mbodazwe Banajo Nyathi, was brutally assaulted and burnt to death in the Johannesburg township of Diepsloot.1 As vigilante groups continue to engage in anti-migrant activism and grow their grassroots support and geographical and regional coverage, this paper seeks to interrogate the legality, appropriateness and sustainability of vigilantism against migrants in South Africa. The analysis adds to the ongoing mainstream debate on illegal migration in South Africa.
Topic:: Security, Crime, Discrimination, Xenophobia, Peace, Stigmatization, and Migrants
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

54. Characteristics and efficacy of I4P in Southern Africa

Author:: Oita Etyang and Tunji Namaiko
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conflict Trends
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: Compared to other regions, Southern Africa has been considered peaceful for a period of time. The relative peace experienced in the region has partly been attributed to the late decolonisation experience and the existence of strong regional institutions, such as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), that have midwifed and quelled potential threats to peace and security. Certainly, SADC has established and operationalised peace and security organs that strategically intervene in cases of destabilisation in the region,1 including militarily in some countries. For instance, military forces under the ambit of SADC were deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Lesotho. More recently, forces were deployed by the region to quell the insurgency in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique.2 SADC has also intervened in member states to assuage political crises, as recently experienced in Eswatini where the SADC Troika was seized with this matter. Suffice it to mention that while the SADC intervention in Eswatini prevented the situation from escalating further, the root causes of political tensions remain salient. Despite the efforts outlined above, the emergence of conflict, violent demonstrations and riots experienced in some countries in this region, including Zimbabwe (2013, 2018), Zambia (2016), Eswatini (2021) and Madagascar (2020/2022), coupled with the evolving peace and security threats, such as armed insurgency, governance deficit, economic downturn, vagaries of climate change and the lack of economic development, have triggered an academic and policy appetite on the nature and efficacy of Infrastructure for Peace (I4P) in the region. Secondly, discussions on the subject area have predominantly focused on security apparatus, with little attention to other non-state-centric I4P. This article, therefore, interrogates the status of I4P within the Southern African region. Specifically, it unpacks their characteristics and roles in peace building, conflict prevention, conflict management, community cohesion and integration. The article goes further to highlight the challenges that I4P face in executing their respective mandates.
Topic:: Conflict, Protests, Destabilization, Peacebuilding, and Infrastructure for Peace (I4P)
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

55. Maximising the impact of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)

Author:: Vincent Obisie-Orlu
Publication Date:: 12-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: This briefing assesses South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). It acknowledges programme achievements while addressing challenges, including delays to the procurement process and financial issues facing REIPPPP projects. It underscores the necessity for electricity industry reform and more cohesive energy policies. It proposes changes to how investment decisions are made, and collaboration occurs alongside the REIPPPP process to promote private sector investment, develop localisation within the REIPPPP and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities. Lastly, it provides a thorough analysis to inform recommendations that will maximise REIPPPP’s role in realising South Africa’s energy objectives.
Topic:: Reform, Finance, Investment, Electricity, Renewable Energy, and Procurement
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

56. Enhancing political accountability in South Africa

Author:: Pranish Desai and Mxolisi Zondo
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: Enshrined in the founding provisions of South Africa’s democratic constitution is the commitment to a “multi-party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness”.1 Today, South Africa is entering a new form of multiparty governance through the emergence of coalition governments in municipalities across the country. Following the Constitutional Court’s June 2020 decision to strike down parts of the Electoral Act of 1998, there have also been critical discussions about whether our national and provincial electoral framework of proportional representation fosters the accountability and responsiveness to which our constitution aspires.2 Both the nascent era of widespread coalition governance and the debate over electoral reform occur while the confidence that citizens have in our democracy is depreciating. In order to revive South Africans’ belief in our democratic system, we must renew that system to improve accountability. Many of the policy proposals that Good Governance Africa (GGA) considers in this briefing already exist,3 but we evaluate them in specific relation to how they can deepen political accountability in South Africa. The upshot is that a shift in approach from our institutions, political parties, civil society and citizens themselves is required.
Topic:: Governance, Elections, Accountability, Social Contract, and Coalition
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

57. The state of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme: Where to from here?

Author:: Busisipho Siyobi
Publication Date:: 12-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, recently briefed South Africa on the progress of the Energy Action Plan and the challenges associated with its implementation. Minister Ramokgopa further remarked on the positive socio-economic impact that the Renewable Energy Independent Power Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has had on the industry and economy. Over R300 billion has been attracted for infrastructure investment and over 120 independent power producers have been selected as preferred bidders. These success factors indicate great potential for an optimal energy mix, led by renewable energy sources, to be attained. They also highlight opportunities for more private-sector investment. For this potential to be fully maximised, programme design, programme management and market dynamics will be critical to factor in. This report assesses the abovementioned overarching categories and illustrates mechanisms that will be integral to facilitating increased private sector investment into grid-connected renewable energy generation. This will yield efficient management of REIPPPP and further enable improved economic growth and sustainable development.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, and Energy
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

58. Gold in Ghana: A Story of Unbalanced Exchange

Author:: Léonce Ndikumana and William Godfred Cantah
Publication Date:: 09-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: his paper presents the historical and institutional context of the development of the gold sector in Ghana, which sets the stage for examining the contribution of the sector to the economy and its exposure to capital flight. The analysis sheds light on the important role that the regulatory framework and the fiscal regime that govern the gold sector have played in perpetuating a system of unequal distribution of gains from gold exploitation in terms of tax revenue and foreign exchange earnings in favour of foreign gold companies. The statistical analysis of gold export statistics reveals substantial discrepancies between Ghana’s gold exports and the recorded value of imports by its trading partners. These differences point to export underinvoicing as a conduit of capital flight, while also exhibiting a systematic lack of transparency and inconsistencies vis-a-vis established international conventions governing the recording of trade transactions, especially in the case of gold destined for South Africa which does not show up in the latter’s import statistics. Overall, the analysis suggests that the gains from the gold sector remain much below potential, but that at the same time there may be room for reforms that can improve the benefits from gold exploitation for the country.
Topic:: Development, Regulation, Capital Flight, Exchange Rates, and Gold
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Ghana

59. The Implementation of Sustainability Taxonomies: The Case of South Africa

Author:: Sören Hilbrich, Kathrin Berensmann, Giovanna Artmann, Sam Ashman, and Theresa Herbold
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: In recent years, many jurisdictions have developed sustainability taxonomies that aim to increase transparency of financial markets and redirect capital flows to sustainable investments. Such sustainable finance policies can be important levers because today’s investments shape economic production processes for decades. This case study on South Africa’s Green Finance Taxonomy (GFT) addresses the question of what factors influence the adoption of sustainability taxonomies by potential users. It finds that one year after its publication, the GFT has hardly been used in practice. Important factors hindering an effective implementation are a lack of regulatory embedding, the absence of a legal recognition of the GFT by the European Union (EU), a hesitancy among financial market participants to build capacities to collect the necessary data, and fossil-fuel path dependencies in South Africa’s economy. These findings have important policy implications (e.g. regarding accompanying governance measures) for implementation processes in many countries in the coming years.
Topic:: Development, Economy, Capital Flows, Investment, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

60. Green Hydrogen: Implications for International Cooperation With Special Reference to South Africa

Author:: Andreas Stamm, Tilman Altenburg, Rita Strohmaier, Ece Oyan, and Katharina Thoms
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: Green hydrogen – produced with renewable energy – is indispensable for the decarbonisation of economies, especially concerning “hard-to-abate” activities such as the production of steel, cement and fertilisers as well as maritime transport and aviation. The demand for green hydrogen is therefore booming. Currently, green hydrogen is far more expensive than fossil fuel-based alternatives, but major initiatives are underway to develop a global green hydrogen market and bring costs down. Green hydrogen is expected to become cost-competitive in the mid-2030s. Given their endowment with solar and wind energy, many countries in the Global South are well-positioned to produce low-cost green hydrogen and are therefore attracting investments. Whether and to what extent these investments will create value and employment for – and improve environmental conditions in – the host economies depends on policies. This discussion paper analyses the potential industrial development spillovers of green hydrogen production, distinguishing seven clusters of upstream and downstream industries that might receive a stimulus from green hydrogen. Yet, it also underlines that there is no automatism. Unless accompanied by industrial and innovation policies, and unless there are explicit provisions for using revenues for a Just Transition, hydrogen investments may lead to the formation of socially exclusive enclaves. The paper consists of two parts. Part A provides basic information on the emerging green hydrogen market and its technological ramifications, the opportunities for countries with abundant resources for renewable energy, how national policies can maximise the effects in terms of sustainable national development and how this can be supported by international cooperation. Part B delves into the specific case of South Africa, which is one of the countries that has an advanced hydrogen roadmap and hosts several German and international development projects. The country case shows how a national hydrogen strategy can be tailored to specific country conditions and how international cooperation can support its design and implementation.
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, Renewable Energy, and Hydrogen
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Germany

61. The 1973 Durban Strikes: Building Popular Democratic Power in South Africa

Author:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:: Long after the decolonisation wave swept across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, two large countries – Brazil and South Africa – remained in the grip of wretched political systems. The military dictatorship in Brazil (1964–1985) and the apartheid regime in South Africa (1948–1994) faced significant challenges from a range of political and social forces. Although many of these struggles are etched into public memory, the role of workers’ resistance is little known outside of unions, as if workers’ struggles were marginal to the story of democratisation. On the contrary, in both countries, the struggles of workers were central in bringing down odious regimes. In South Africa, the 1973 strikes in the industrial port city of Durban began the process of building a militant trade union movement that would, by the second half of the 1980s, have the apartheid regime reeling from its blows. In Brazil, the 1978–1981 strikes in three industrial cities in greater São Paulo – Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, and São Caetano do Sul – are often said to have marked the beginning of the end of the military dictatorship. The strikes were led by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, then president of the ABC Metalworkers’ Union and the current president of Brazil. Workers led the way against entrenched forms of domination that not only exploited them, but also oppressed the people as a whole, and the democracies to come were first incubated on the shop floor. This dossier is a contribution to recovering that part of South Africa’s history.
Topic:: Apartheid, Democratization, History, Decolonization, Labor Strike, and Workers
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

62. Culture as a Weapon of Struggle: The Medu Art Ensemble and Southern African Liberation

Author:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:: 12-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:: This dossier focuses on the Medu Art Ensemble (1979-1985) and its role in organising cultural resistance in the struggle for liberation in South Africa and the region.
Topic:: Apartheid, History, Arts, Culture, and Political Movements
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

63. Josie Mpama

Author:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Case Study
Institution:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:: The twentieth century was marked by national liberation struggles that emerged in Africa and Asia, as well as in Latin America, where neocolonial structures had subordinated the formally independent countries. The achievements of the Russian Revolution in 1917 inspired the peasantry and the working class across the Global South. The fight for equality and liberation under the leadership of working people is ongoing in the anti-imperialist struggles of our time. Women, in a myriad of ways, have powerfully shaped and continue to shape all of these struggles. In the Women of Struggle, Women in Struggle series of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, we present the stories of women in struggle who contributed not only to the wider arena of politics, but who also pioneered the establishment of women’s organisations, opening up paths of feminist resistance and struggle throughout the twentieth century. Praxis, as a knowledge of theory and organisational methods of struggle as they change and respond to history, gives sustenance to ongoing struggles against oppression. As militants, we study the diverse lives, contexts, and organisational methods of these women not only to better understand their political contributions, but also to inspire us as we build the organisations necessary to win the fight against oppression and exploitation today. In the fourth study of this series, we discuss the life and political struggles of Josie Mpama (1903–1979), a leader in the resistance against colonial oppression and the apartheid system in South Africa. Josie was a key figure in the history of women organisers in South Africa and a leader in the Communist Party of South Africa. Her life teaches us about the importance of grassroots and mass organising, as well as the challenges that come with that work. Like so many women involved in radical politics, particularly in the Global South, Josie’s extraordinary political contributions and theoretical acumen have been overlooked and largely excluded from the mainstream historical record.
Topic:: Politics, Women, Resistance, and Josie Mpama
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

64. The JETPs of South Africa and Indonesia: A Blueprint for the Move Away from Coal?

Author:: Annika Seiler, Hannah Brown, and Samuel Matthews
Publication Date:: 07-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: The Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) are a novel approach to intensifying ongoing efforts toward carbon neutrality, combining country-led strategies to decarbonize the energy sector and addressing development priorities resulting from the ensuing structural transformation with focused, long-term, and plurilateral partnerships. The launches of the $8.5 billion JETP for South Africa in 2021 and the $20.0 billion JETP for Indonesia in 2022 provide momentum for this effort. However, the legacies of coal-based power and modest renewable energy deployment in both countries present key challenges in the areas of political economy, policy alignment, finance, and supply chain development. This paper consolidates available information about these two JETPs and analyzes the approaches taken by South Africa and Indonesia, with the aim of providing a thought framework for these JETPs. It seeks to identify risks and gaps that could obstruct these JETPs’ advancement and to assess whether these JETPs can serve as blueprints for other countries looking to accelerate their move away from coal. Further, this paper highlights complementary action that could enhance the effectiveness of these JETPs and guide the development of similar partnerships in the future. The paper finds that while the JETPs for South Africa and Indonesia appear to deliver a blueprint for moving away from coal in their respective contexts, barriers, risks, and gaps call into question whether the targets can be delivered at the planned pace and scale.
Topic:: Climate Change, Climate Finance, Renewable Energy, Energy, and Green Transition
Political Geography:: Africa, Indonesia, South Africa, and Southeast Asia

65. Macro-financial implications of public debt in South Africa: The role of financial regimes

Author:: Theshne Kisten
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper examines the role of financial frictions in the public debt–growth nexus, documenting that a public debt shock has different macro-financial implications dependent on the state of financial markets in South Africa. A non-linear vector autoregression model is estimated which allows the transmission mechanism to be characterized by two distinct financial regimes: stressful versus normal. The empirical results suggest that a public debt shock has a broadly insignificant impact on economic growth over the full sample, reflecting the ineffectiveness of government borrowing in stimulating the economy, and could suggest that the high and growing debt service costs faced by the government reduces funds available for investment purposes. Debt shocks are found to be deflationary in both regimes, lending support to the precautionary savings effect and the existence of a well-developed financial market, while interest rates decline with the immediate impact being moderately larger in the stress regime, providing evidence of the accommodative stance between fiscal policy and monetary policy. In response to a public debt shock, financial conditions show an immediate and transitory improvement in the high-stress regime; however, in the low-stress regime there is an immediate yet negligible improvement in financial conditions. Lastly, the responses evolve over time, with fiscal policy being less effective in stimulating the economy in the post-crisis period, but it has been effective in reducing financial stress in the high-stress regime.
Topic:: Economics, Finance, Economic Growth, and Public Debt
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

66. Nation building in post-conflict settings: Evidence from South Africa

Author:: Thomas Gautier, Daniela Horta-Saenz, and Gianluca Russo
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: How do states rebuild nations after a major conflict? Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) have emerged as one of the most common interventions to achieve this objective. Despite their popularity, little is known about their efficacy to foster reconciliation and nation building. We fill this gap by studying the seminal TRC established in South Africa after the end of the Apartheid. To measure exposure to TRC across South African municipalities, we leverage quasi-random variation in media coverage of the TRC message. South African municipalities with higher historical exposure to TRC on media have lower levels of violence today. This effect is driven by improved nation building and higher trust towards post-Apartheid institutions. Exploiting daily variation in TRC hearings and mediatic exposure in the short run, we bolster our interpretation that our long-run results are forged in the years of TRC activity. The same evidence suggests that our results are driven by the coverage of TRC on media as opposed to generic media exposure.
Topic:: Reconciliation, Post-Conflict, Trust, Nation Building, and Truth and Reconciliation
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

67. Employment transitions with high unemployment and a small informal sector: Examining worker flows during normal and recessionary periods in South Africa

Author:: Shakeba Foster
Publication Date:: 04-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper examines employment transitions in the South African labour market. Using the Post-Apartheid Labour Market Series, it analyses flows between the formal sector, informal sector, and unemployment, paying specific attention to how these flows differ during recessions. It explicitly considers heterogeneity within the informal sector by separately accounting for wage employment and self-employment as well as upper-tier and lower-tier informal sector segments. Transition probabilities are estimated using dynamic discrete choice models, and the extent to which transitions affect changes in real wages is estimated using a linear model. The results provide evidence of heterogeneity within the informal sector and segmentation between wage employment and self-employment. They also show a lag in the employment impacts following a recession. Finally, the paper provides suggestive evidence that the upper-tier segment of the informal sector acts as a buffer during recessionary periods by absorbing labour that would otherwise be unemployed or relegated to precarious lower-tier informal employment.
Topic:: Employment, Labor Market, Informal Economy, and Recession
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

68. South Africa-Russia Maintain Special Relations

Author:: Jędrzej Czerep
Publication Date:: 04-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: Although South Africa declares it is neutral regarding the war in Ukraine and offers mediation, it remains a de facto ally of Russia. This is due to the strong sentiment among the ruling elites for the period of cooperation with the USSR, its successor Russia and its activity and influence in this country, and the perception that BRICS will help elevate South Africa’s international importance. If Vladimir Putin visits Johannesburg as scheduled in August, the authorities of the state, which is party to the Rome Statute, will not be willing to fulfil their obligation to arrest him or may even leave the International Criminal Court.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, BRICS, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Africa, Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and South Africa

69. Harnessing Public Employment Programmes' Potential: An Intervention Brief Focusing on Youth Inclusion in South Africa's Community Work Programme

Author:: M. Langa
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: Youth continue to be worst affected by social and economic issues such as unemployment, substance abuse and violence (ILO, 2021; United Nations, 2011). South African youth are no exception to this claim, experiencing the world’s highest rate of unemployment as well as some of the highest rates of homicide and gender-based violence (Clifford, 2020; Rebello, 2021). These challenges have gained increased recognition from stakeholders, such as the South African government, with the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative representing one of many recent initiatives. This intervention brief aims to contribute to conversations around how to better address the challenges faced by South African youth. It builds on research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), which focused on how public employment programmes, specifically the Community Work Programme (CWP), may contribute to youth social and economic inclusion, which may further assist in reducing the vulnerability of South African youth. This brief highlights how some youth have negative perceptions of the CWP, which primarily stem from the nature of the activities carried out by the CWP and a lack of accurate knowledge about the programme. Examples from four CWP sites highlight how youthoriented activities may attract greater interest in the programme among youth. It also highlights how youth have benefitted and can continue to benefit from the programme.
Topic:: Government, Employment, Youth, Unemployment, and Inclusion
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

70. Aid and Technological Cooperation as a Foreign Policy Tool for Emerging Donors: The Case of Brazil

Author:: Kamil Yılmaz
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: There is a high concern that development assistance can be seen as national interest from the donor’s perspective. The book dwells on the specific case of Brazil and tackles the question of how a country like Brazil seeks power and influence by providing no-strings-attached foreign technical assistance. In the book, there are also some similarities and differences among Southern emerging donors like China, India and South Africa, concerning their take on foreign assistance. The book, as Farrias puts it, is mainly about foreign policy motivations and development assistance. In the particular case of Brazil, author asks what the foreign policy logic behind the no-strings-attached development assistance is. While answering the question, she gets help from a theoretical perspective, which is a combination of realism and constructivism. According to Farrias, development partnership between developing countries is understudied; and she wants to clear this gap with a specific case study. According to her, most studies deal with money-based cooperation, but from a developing country’s perspective, knowledge sharing is common. Hence, technical cooperation is ought to be explored, Farrias claims. According to Farrias, technical cooperation is mostly on non-controversial topics. She advocates that despite the weakness of development assistance, it is one of the most common foreign policy tools for developing countries.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, Science and Technology, Foreign Aid, Book Review, and Development Assistance
Political Geography:: China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Global South

71. Latent Politics in South Africa: The Fall of Apartheid and the Personality Factor

Author:: Vadim Kurillo and Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:: Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:: The aim of this paper is to study the phenomenon of latent politics in South Africa’s struggle against apartheid in the period from the second half of the 1970s to the early 1990s. Its methodological basis includes the theory of latent politics and Hegel’s philosophical substantiation of the role of the individual in the historical process. The paradigm that is developed in the article considers real politics as an organic unity of additional parts – hidden (latent) and overt (transparent). The potential theoretical or empirical significance of the work is as follows: at the theoretical level – a more detailed development of the concept of ‘latent policy’ and its use; and at the empirical level – an applied research of specific archival material, recorded oral history testimonies, political speeches and documents that confirm the correctness of the proposed paradigm which focuses on latent politics. We also argue that latent policy is not only the activity of intelligence and special services, but also includes many other unobserved or concealed actions and phenomena in society.
Topic:: Apartheid, Politics, History, Political Science, Resistance, and Latent Politics
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

72. DOES THE GLOBAL CONSENSUS ON APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA HOLD CLUES FOR THE UYGHURS?

Author:: Maria Lotito
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Political Violence @ A Glance
Abstract:: A new report from the United Nations finds that China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and that human rights violations are ongoing. The abuse flows from China’s “Strike Hard” campaign, executed to counter separatism and extremism, subjecting Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities to mass detentions, forced labor and sterilizations, cultural suppression, and surveillance. The report comes months after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, before which some governments sympathetic to the Uyghurs’ plight staged diplomatic boycotts, to little avail. The UN report, much like the Olympic boycotts, will change few minds. What does it take to generate intergovernmental consensus around broad-scale human rights violations? Such convergence, even upon opposition to egregious human rights abuse, is rare and difficult to achieve. This is because violating governments are skilled at subverting international human rights norms and onlooking states have many reasons to avoid acting. Abusive practices might be reframed as responsible policy, or covered up. Meanwhile, supposedly compliant governments contend with a panoply of bilateral interests, some incompatible with international norms.
Topic:: Apartheid, Human Rights, Arab Spring, Color Revolutions, Soviet Union, and Consensus
Political Geography:: Africa, Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Iceland

73. One world, many knowledges: Epistemological pluralism and African scholarship (Full Issue)

Author:: Moliehi Ramonate, Nnaemeka Ohamadike, Helen Acton, Malvern Kudakwashe Marewo, Senzo Ncube, Nene-Lomotey Kuditchar, Ross Harvey, Terence Corrigan, Kendra Connock, Jordan McLean, and Laura Rubidge
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Africa Governance Papers (TAGP)
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: This issue reflects something of the journal’s multi- and interdisciplinary ambitions, with articles employing a range of research methodologies and looking at very different topics in Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa, as well as broader-ranging issues in West Africa and the continent.
Topic:: Politics, Governance, Research, Populism, Maritime, Accountability, Innovation, Oversight, Pluralism, Epistemology, and Traditional Leaders
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

74. The effect of wage subsidies on job retention: Evidence from South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic

Author:: Timothy Köhler, Robert Hill, and Haroon Bhorat
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Wage subsidies have served as a primary labour market policy used around the world to mitigate job losses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa, where unemployment is among the highest globally, the Temporary Employer–Employee Relief Scheme supported millions of workers in a far-reaching and progressive manner. We make use of unique labour force panel data to estimate the causal effect of the policy on short-term job retention among formal private sector workers, who represent the majority of workers in the country, by exploiting a temporary institutional eligibility detail and estimating a difference-in-differences model. We find that the policy increased the probability of remaining employed by 16 percentage points in the short-term. This finding holds when subjected to several robustness tests. We further estimate heterogeneous and progressive effects across the wage distribution with larger effects observed for lower-wage workers, against a backdrop of regressively distributed job loss in the country. Our analysis provides evidence on the role of wage subsidies in the mitigation of job loss during crises in developing countries.
Topic:: Employment, Wage Subsidies, COVID-19, Labor Market, and Job Loss
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

75. Determinants of corporate cash holdings in South Africa

Author:: Ewa Karwowski, Hanna Szymborska, Keagile Lesame, and Tlhologelo Thoka
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Globally, corporate cash holdings have risen since the 1980s. In South Africa, some commentators have accused corporations of engaging in an ‘investment strike’, while others see corporate liquidity as a precaution against systemic uncertainty. We use the unique South African Revenue Service/National Treasury firm-level dataset to scrutinize corporate liquidity, using panel analysis. Relative to GDP, corporate cash and liquidity holdings have not increased between 2010 and 2017. However, corporate cash is high in international comparison and has grown at the firm level. We do not find evidence for the hypothesis that companies are engaging in an investment strike. Cash and liquidity are shaped by idiosyncratic and sectoral risk factors. In the short run, heightened uncertainty might reduce corporate cash and liquidity as firms struggle to adjust to an unexpected economic situation. In the medium run, we find a strong association between political uncertainty and corporate cash and liquidity holdings.
Topic:: Economics, Corporations, Liquidity, and Cash
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Global Focus

76. BRICS and Global Health Diplomacy in the Covid-19 Pandemic: Situating BRICS’ diplomacy within the prevailing global health governance context

Author:: Candice Moore
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: BRICS have been cast as a bloc with the potential to make significant changes in Global Health. The management of the Covid-19 pandemic has shown divisions in the bloc and the limits of its ability to formulate policies or even act upon previously agreed positions. This paper employs an examination of BRICS Health Ministerial declarations and an analysis of power in International Relations to reflect on BRICS’ Global Health diplomacy during the Covid-19 pandemic, covering the key questions of vaccine research and development, vaccine nationalism, and travel bans. It finds that multiple dimensions of power matter in Global Health leadership.
Topic:: Health, International Cooperation, Governance, Pandemic, COVID-19, and BRICS
Political Geography:: Africa, Russia, China, Europe, India, Asia, South Africa, Brazil, and South America

77. Starr Forum: Speaking Truth to a New Power: Perspectives on Free Press and Democracy in South Africa

Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: What is the state of democracy and the free press in South Africa?
Topic:: Mass Media, Democracy, Media, and Freedom of Press
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

78. Advancing Youth Inclusion and Violence Prevention through Public Support Programmes

Author:: Jasmina Brankovic
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: State-run socio-economic and livelihood support programmes have been shown to increase the social inclusion of young people and thereby contribute to the prevention of violence involving youth. This practice brief outlines strategies for civil society practitioners to advocate for these public programmes, improve their implementation and amplify their positive effects, based on experiences in Southern and East Africa.
Topic:: Youth, Violence, Inclusion, and Livelihoods
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and East Africa

79. Youth Inclusion in the Development of South Africa's National Youth Policy (2020–2030): Reflections and Recommendations

Author:: Steven Rebello
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: South Africa's National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020–2030 (DWYPD, 2020) represents the country's third attempt to outline actions that can or should be taken, by government and other stakeholders, to facilitate youth development at local and national levels. Meaningful youth inclusion and participation represents a central value within this policy. This emphasis on inclusion aligns with the Constitution of South Africa, where public participation in governance is enshrined as a constitutional imperative. Recognising this emphasis on youth inclusion, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) engaged with a key representative within the Department of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities (DWYPD) to determine what steps or activities the department has initiated to include youth in the development of the NYP 2020–2030 (hereafter referred to as the NYP 2030).
Topic:: Development, Governance, Youth, and Inclusion
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

80. The Youth's Continent: Meaningful Youth Inclusion in Policy and Programme Cycles

Author:: Steven Rebello, Brian Kimari, and Mwangi Mwaura
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: This policy brief develops from research carried out by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR, South Africa) and the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS, Kenya). Known as the Youth Inclusion for Violence Prevention Project, this research investigated the role of socio-economic and livelihood support programmes in promoting youth social and economic inclusion and preventing violence. A key finding of the research highlighted how such programmes continue to follow a top-down approach, where youth are either merely viewed as beneficiaries or not meaningfully involved in conceptualising, implementing, evaluating and revising such programmes. A discussion around the value of greater youth inclusion is supplemented with examples of how youth may have been more meaningfully included in South Africa's Community Work Programme (CWP) as well as Kenya's Youth Employment Opportunities Project (KYEOP). The brief concludes with recommendations relevant to youth inclusion in these as well as other socio-economic and livelihood support programmes.
Topic:: Employment, Youth, Violence, and Inclusion
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

81. The Law is Not Enough: Realising the Child’s Right to a Nationality in South Africa

Author:: Liesl Heila Muller
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: The Republic of South Africa (‘South Africa’) boasts some of the most progressive and inclusive citizenship laws on the African continent, protecting the right to citizenship in both its constitution and subsidiary legislation and affording special protections to children. A simple exercise in comparative law would find that there is no statelessness problem in South Africa but that would be incorrect. A closer look at the implementation of the laws reveals serious problems in the Government’s nationality administration, resulting in statelessness. In the South African context, it is not immediately possible to tell whether a child is stateless. It is only once attempts have been made to obtain (recognition of) citizenship and those attempts have failed (because of a faulty system) that a determination can be made. Under customary international law, a person is stateless because of non-recognition of citizenship by any state, whether legally or illegally. As a result, nationality administration procedures are as important as laws. South Africa’s failure to formally recognise its citizens because of insurmountable administrative barriers and discriminatory practices is making children in South Africa stateless, rendering its impressive laws useless. This article provides a brief analysis of the historical and legislative context within which South Africa finds itself, then analyses recent jurisprudence on childhood statelessness to illustrate how the right to administrative justice is crucial to South Africa’s trajectory of success in ending childhood statelessness, offering recommendations for the way forward.
Topic:: Nationalism, Citizenship, Bureaucracy, and Administration
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

82. The impacts of the pandemic on investment flows in BRICS countries: a preliminary analysis based on UNCTAD global investment reports

Author:: Ana Garcia, Rafaela Mello, Victor Fernandes, Maria Eduarda Lopes, João Carmino, and Felipe Queiroz
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: BRICS Policy Center
Abstract:: In 2020, with the advent of the pandemic, the lockdown and social isolation actions implemented by governments in order to contain the contagion of the virus had an impact on the economies, reducing the speed of execution of existing investment projects and hindering the prospect of new ones. In this sense, the flow of direct investments around the world fell by 35% in 2020, reaching US$ 1 trillion, compared to US$ 1.5 trillion in the previous year, according to UNCTAD. Based on this observation, the present research aims to understand the main trends around the investment flow related to the BRICS countries, in order to assess how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the dynamics of investments in the world, and especially, in emerging economies. To this end, the reports produced by UNCTAD from 2019 to 2022 regarding global investment flows were analyzed, in order to understand how the scenario was before the pandemic and what dynamics were underway before the health crisis, but it also allowed to understand what transformations occurred with the course of the pandemic, in addition to signaling paths and trends for the future.
Topic:: Economy, Investment, COVID-19, BRICS, and Health Crisis
Political Geography:: Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Brazil

83. Geoeconomics of Polarisation: Can BRICS eclipse western global economic power?

Author:: FARAS
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Future for Advanced Research and Studies (FARAS)
Abstract:: The 14th BRICS summit concluded on June 24 amid Western sanctions on Russia and rising tension between China and the US over Taiwan. The two-day event took place via video and was hosted by Beijing.
Topic:: Economy, BRICS, Polarization, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Russia, China, India, Taiwan, South Africa, Brazil, and United States of America

84. Militarized Global Apartheid

Author:: Catherine Besteman and William Kattrup
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: Catherine Besteman is Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology at Colby College. A past President of the Association of Political and Legal Anthropologists, her most recent books include Militarized Global Apartheid (2020), Making Refuge: Somali Bantu Refugees and Lewiston, Maine (2016), and the co-edited Life by Algorithms (2019). In addition to coordinating the 2021 abolitionist initiative Freedom & Captivity, she has published six other books, and received recent fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations.
Topic:: Apartheid, International Affairs, and Interview
Political Geography:: South Africa, Global South, and Global North

85. Social Protection in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons from South Africa

Author:: Lena Gronbach, Jeremy Seekings, and Vayda Megannon
Publication Date:: 02-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: South Africa responded to the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown using a combination of existing social protection programmes, unemployment insurance, and additional measures to support those most affected. This paper reviews policies and implementation with the objective of highlighting lessons for the global community, including on the use of digital mechanisms. The government adopted a two-pronged and largely cash-based approach: unemployment benefits for formal sector workers and cash transfers to vulnerable individuals, informal workers, and beneficiaries of existing grants. Top-up payments for existing grants were rolled out efficiently; the new Special Relief of Distress (SRD) grant posed challenges but ultimately succeeded in reaching over six million previously uncovered beneficiaries. It may even become a permanent feature of South Africa’s social protection system. Overall, the government reached over 30 million South Africans with cash-based relief measures. A distinctive feature of cash-based emergency relief was the use of digital technologies, especially in the application and verification process for the new SRD grant. The payment system, however, relied heavily on manual cash disbursements, thus failing to reflect the adoption of innovative digital technologies observed in many other African countries.
Topic:: Security, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Protection
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

86. Bölünmüş Toplumlarda Anayasa Yapımı: Güney Afrika Deneyimi (Constitution-Making Processes in Divided Societies: The South African Experience)

Author:: Sevtap Yokuş
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: Bölünmüş toplumlarda anayasa yapım süreçleri, demokratik anayasa bakımından çok daha büyük önem taşır. Anayasal düzenlemeler ve tercihler kadar anayasa yapım yöntemleri de demokratik anayasa açısından belirleyicidirler. Demokratik anayasa yapımı süreçleri, toplumun bütün kesimlerinin katılımına açık olarak yürütülür. Katılımcı anayasa yapım örneklerinden en orijinal ve en çarpıcı olanı, Güney Afrika Anayasası inşa sürecidir. Bu süreç, ayrımcı Apartheid rejiminden demokrasiye geçişi sağladı. Kurucu Meclis, Anayasa inşa sürecini güvenilir kılmak amacıyla, şeffaflık ve katılımcılık ilkelerini sürece hâkim kılmaya çalıştı. Güney Afrika anayasa yapım süreci, başarılı bir demokratikleşme örneğidir. Güney Afrika deneyimi, çatışma çözümünde anayasa yapım yönteminin ne denli belirleyici olduğunu göstermesi bakımından da önemlidir.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Constitution, Participation, and Polarization
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

87. How Inequality and Polarization Interact: America’s Challenges Through a South African Lens

Author:: Brian Levy
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Over the past decade, toxic interactions between persistent inequality, racial tensions, and political polarization have undercut the promise of South Africa’s so-called rainbow miracle transition from apartheid to democracy. South Africa’s recent history sheds light on the United States’ recent political travails. It illustrates how interactions between inclusion and inequality on the one hand and political ideas and entrepreneurship on the other can fuel positive spirals of hope, economic dynamism, and political legitimacy—but can also trigger vicious, downward spirals of disillusion, anger, and political polarization. South Africa was able to transition from a society structured around racial oppression into a nonracial democracy whose new government promised “a better life for all.” Especially remarkable was the speed with which one set of national ideas appeared to give way to its polar opposite. From a society marked by racial dominance and oppression, there emerged the aspiration to build an inclusive, cooperative social order, underpinned by the principles of equal dignity and shared citizenship. In the initial glow of transition, South Africa’s citizens could hope for a better life for themselves and their children. In time, though, the promise wore thin. It became increasingly evident that the economic deck would continue to be stacked, and that the possibility of upward mobility would remain quite limited. Fueled by massive continuing inequities in wealth, income, and opportunity, South Africans increasingly turned from hope to anger. In the United States, a steady and equitably growing economy and a vibrant civil rights movement had fostered the hope of social and economic inclusion. But that hope turned to anger as the benefits of growth became increasingly skewed from the 1980s onward. In 2019, the U.S. economy was more unequal than it had been since the 1920s. Younger generations could no longer expect that their lives would be better than those of their parents. Such economic adversity and associated status anxiety can trigger a heightened propensity for us-versus-them ways of engaging the world. In both South Africa and the United States, polarization was fueled by divisive political entrepreneurs, and in both countries, these entrepreneurs leveraged inequality in ways that added fuel to the fire. In the 2010s, South Africa went through a new ideational reckoning, in part to correct the view that the transition to democracy had washed the country’s apartheid history clean. But opportunistic political entrepreneurs also pushed an increasingly polarized and re-racialized political discourse and pressure on public institutions, with predictable economic consequences. South Africa’s economy slid into sustained stagnation. Paralleling South Africa, America’s divisive political entrepreneurs also cultivated an us-versus-them divisiveness. However, unlike in South Africa, political entrepreneurs and economic elites in the United States also used divisive rhetoric as a way to persuade voters to embrace inequality-increasing policies that might otherwise not have won support. By the late 2010s, the risks were palpable in both South Africa and the United States of an accelerating breakdown of the norms and institutions that sustain inclusive political settlements. For South Africa, the reversals were not wholly unexpected, given the country’s difficult inheritance—though a recent turn away from angry populism suggests that, paradoxically, the rawness and recency of the anti-apartheid struggle and triumph might perhaps offer some immunization against a further-accelerating a downward spiral. But for the United States, the converse may be true. Increases in inequality since the 1980s, and their attendant social and political consequences, have been largely self-inflicted wounds. Complacency bred of long stability may, for decades, have been lulling the country into political recklessness at the inequality-ethnicity intersection, a recklessness that risks plunging the country into disaster. But this paper’s analysis is not all gloom and doom. South Africa’s escape from the shackles of apartheid teaches that, even in the most unlikely settings, downward spirals of despair and anger can transmute into virtuous spirals of hope. The country’s first fifteen years of democracy also show that, once a commitment to change has taken hold, making the shift to an inclusion-supporting economy is less daunting than it might seem. Reforms that foster “good enough inclusion” can be enough to provide initial momentum, with the changes themselves unfolding over time—and an initial round of change can bring in its wake a variety of positive knock-on effects. But lessons can be overlearned. Mass political mobilization was pivotal to South Africa’s shaking loose the shackles of apartheid—and new calls to the barricades might seem to be the obvious response to current political and governmental dysfunction. However, different times and different challenges call for different responses. In both contemporary South Africa and contemporary America, the frontier challenge is not to overthrow an unjust political order but to renew preexisting formal commitments to the idea that citizenship implies some shared purpose. Renewal of this kind might best be realized not by confrontation but rather by a social movement centered around a vision of shared citizenship, a movement that views cooperation in pursuit of win-win possibilities not as weakness but as the key to the sustainability of thriving, open, and inclusive societies.
Topic:: Governance, Democracy, Inequality, Institutions, and Polarization
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, North America, and United States of America

88. ‘Delangokubona’ and the distribution of rents and opportunity

Author:: Ayabonga Cawe
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Capital spending on infrastructure presents a significant counter-cyclical tool, however contested it might be in a society as unequal as South Africa. The history of racial capitalism, racebased exclusion from economic participation, and an enduring political economy based on the concentration of capital, product, and service markets has given rise to a post-apartheid ‘politics of entry’ that mobilizes both formal and informal adaptations of redistributive policies aimed at ensuring redress of past injustices and access and participation by small and medium-sized enterprises owned by historically disadvantaged people. This is observed in stark form in the capital spending on economic and social infrastructure, which the South African government envisages as the ‘flywheel’ of the country’s economic reconstruction and recovery. Applying a combination of tools from new institutional economics, political sociology, and heterodox political economy frameworks, this paper considers the ‘informal’ and at times violent adaptation of policy, here defined as the ‘Delangokubona phenomenon’, which uses both formal mechanisms and the threat (perceived or real) of violent disruption to negotiate access to policy-sanctioned economic ‘rents’ under the auspices of ‘black economic empowerment’ in public infrastructure projects.
Topic:: Infrastructure, Economy, Rent, Redistribution, and Empowerment
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

89. Monetary policy in South Africa, 2007–21

Author:: Patrick Honohan and Athanasios Orphanides
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper reviews South Africa’s monetary policy since 2007 and makes recommendations towards improving the inflation-targeting framework currently in place. Following a surge in inflation into double digits in 2007/08, the South African Reserve Bank managed to guide inflation in line with the 3–6 per cent target band. Estimates of South Africa’s potential output underwent successive downward revisions. The resulting output gap misperceptions contributed to the tendency of inflation to be closer to the upper edge of the band in the 2010s. Our assessment is that the current definition of the target is not ambitious enough and reduces the benefits that inflation targeting could otherwise provide. An eventual point target of 3 per cent would better promote growth and protect the value of the currency, as mandated by the Republic’s Constitution.
Topic:: Monetary Policy, Economy, History, and Inflation
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

90. The Impact of Women Peacekeepers on Public Support for Peacekeeping in TroopContributing Countries

Author:: Laura Huber
Publication Date:: 05-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: There are several common assumptions about how women peacekeepers may impact public opinion in the countries from which they deploy. Women peacekeepers may boost public support for peacekeeping by increasing the perceived legitimacy of peacekeeping missions. They may also boost public support for women’s rights by challenging norms around the roles women should perform. Finally, there is a belief that the death of women peacekeepers could decrease support for peacekeeping. Drawing on two rounds of online public surveys in India and South Africa, this issue brief tests these assumptions. It also draws on an additional survey of UN member-state representatives in New York to understand how decision makers believe the deployment of women alters public support for peacekeeping. Overall, the surveys revealed relatively high levels of support for peacekeeping in both India and South Africa. Moreover, member-state representatives in New York indicated that they not only value public opinion on peacekeeping and consider it when making deployment decisions but also believe that the deployment of women peacekeepers increases support for UN peacekeeping. However, differences between the surveys of the two countries underscore that women peacekeepers may be perceived differently by the public in different contexts and may not always increase support for peacekeeping or women’s rights. Therefore, scholars and policymakers within national governments and the UN should consider how the deployment of women may interact with other social, cultural, and political norms and practices to moderate how the public will perceive and react to women peacekeepers.
Topic:: Security, United Nations, Public Opinion, Peacekeeping, Women, and Peace
Political Geography:: Africa, South Asia, India, and South Africa

91. Reparations for Victims of the Marikana Masssacre

Author:: Hugo van der Merwe, Jordi Vives-Gabriel, and Malose Langa
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: This policy brief presents a summary assessment of the progress made in providing redress for victims of the Marikana Massacre,1 when 34 striking miners were killed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 2012 and ten people were killed in the conflict that led up to it. In the ten years since the massacre, there has been meagre progress in addressing its consequences. Direct victims and their relatives have not received full reparations, the community of Marikana remains underdeveloped and deeply divided, and the apartheid legacy of the mining sector in South Africa remains an unresolved wound in the national psyche. An integrated approach is required to address both the systemic injustices and the specific legacies of the Marikana Massacre, while being clear about the specific responsibilities of all the stakeholders. This policy brief spells out key facts about the events, outlines what progress that has been made in the last ten years in seeking truth, justice and reconciliation, and spells out recommendations for state, corporate and civil society actors on the way forward.
Topic:: Torture, Criminal Justice, State Violence, Police, and Reparations
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

92. The Marikana Massacre: Repair and Corporate Accountability 10 Years On

Author:: Malose Langa, Hugo van der Merwe, Modiege Merafe, and Jordi Vives-Gabriel
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: This report focuses on the process of corporate redress in response to the Marikana Massacre, which occurred on 16 August 2012. The study sought to examine the various forms of reparations that have been provided to victims by the mining company and to understand this process in the context of other processes of justice and repair to address the consequences of conflict and violence. As such, this report forms part of a broader international study on the role of corporate actors in transitional justice processes.1 The report provides a brief description of the events in Marikana against the backdrop of the history of mining in apartheid South Africa and the subsequent transition to democracy. It frames the causes of the massacre as embedded in the unresolved transition and South Africa’s failure to confront the legacy of exploitation and repression in the mining sector. It also seeks to unpack the various initiatives undertaken in response to the massacre, focusing particularly on the measures to address the needs of injured and arrested mineworkers as well as the families of those who were killed.
Topic:: Torture, Criminal Justice, State Violence, Police, Reconciliation, and Corporate Accountability
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

93. An investigation into the role of traditional leaders in conflict resolution: The case of communities in the Mahikeng Local Municipality, North West Province, South Africa

Author:: Lovelyne Mboh
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: For many decades, traditional leaders have been occupied with solving conflicts in African indigenous communities. Nevertheless, their contributions to conflict resolution have not been as widely documented as work in the area of formal conflict resolution. The core of this investigation was to explore the roles traditional leaders play in resolving conflict among indigenous communities in South Africa. The study also explored shortcomings of traditional authority institutions as they carried out their roles in peace building. A qualitative research methodology was adopted to answer the objectives of the article. The research found that conflict remains an element peculiar to communities and, as such, the need for traditional leaders to intervene and maintain peace. Traditional leaders were guided by moral values and belief systems which have been passed down from one generation to the next. These authorities used processes such as mediation and arbitration in achieving peace. However, in some instances, these traditional leaders have experienced disrespect from community members. Most of the participants in this study are knowledgeable about traditional practice and have played vital roles in local conflict situations.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Indigenous, Community, and Traditional Leaders
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

94. The South African Constitutional Court Decides Against Statelessness and in Favour of Children

Author:: Mihloti Basil Sherinda and Jonathan Klaaren
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: Shrinking citizenship is of great concern for those facing the prospect of reduction in citizenship statuses,not from two to one but from some to none—ieto the status of statelessness. Research in South Africa has only recently begun to pay increased attention to the problem of childhood statelessness, itself only seeing sustained interest at the global level for just over a decade.39The DHA does not keep official statistics on statelessness, not mentioning the topic in its annual reports through 2015.40In 2017, one of the leading NGOs addressing the issue provided legal assistance to 92 children (half born in South Africa) with problems of statelessness or at risk of statelessness.41Following a wider human rights definition,rather than the narrower UNHCR approach, South African legislation is mostly in line with international legal standards on the prevention and reduction of statelessness, including for children.42However, the implementation of those laws leaves much to be desired due to the DHA’s tendency to support restrictive interpretations of the provisions in its regulations and policies.43Chisuseclarifies the principle of the statutory interpretive presumption against retrospectivity and its application to legislation in a complex regulatory framework,which could also beinterpreted to extinguish existing citizenship rights. When read in its fullness, the historical approach adopted by the Constitutional Court led to a persuasive decision, handing success to public interest litigants acting on behalf of those faced with adegree of statelessness. Especially when seen in the context of a shrinking bureaucratic regard for citizenship applicants, the Constitutional Court continues to place itself at the centre of the rights-regarding movement within South African citizenship law.44The decision confirms the trend in childhood statelessness cases wherein the lower courts have found against the DHA,45including that of a child born to two Cuban parents where Cuba refused to extend citizenship to the child (instructing the DHA toissue citizenship to the child); a child born to refugees and reaching the age of 18(holding that the DHA’s delay in formulating guidelines for applications was not a sufficient basis to deny children the opportunity for naturalisation); and children with an unmarried South African father and a foreign national mother (ruling that the children should be properly registered so that they could access South African citizenship)
Topic:: Children, Citizenship, Courts, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

95. Through the Lenses of Morality and Responsibility: BRICS, Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Author:: Goktug Kiprizli
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: The aim of this article is to shed a broader light on the social identity of the BRICS group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) whose growing economic power is the defining motive of their social construct in international relations. In line with this purpose, the article examines the BRICS nations’ positions concerning the moral aspect and the notion of responsibility for the nexus between climate change and sustainable development. This article argues that their statements and discourse on climate change and sustainable development forge the process of constructing a separate group identity for the BRICS partners. The articulation of moral appraisals and the notion of responsibility in the areas of climate change and sustainable development help the BRICS countries build their self-conception and self-categorization corresponding to their identity as emerging powers, so their actions are accomplished accordingly.
Topic:: Development, Sustainability, BRICS, Morality, Identity, and Emerging Powers
Political Geography:: Africa, Russia, China, Europe, India, Asia, South Africa, Brazil, and South America

96. The legal and political implications of a judicial review of the Zondo Commission’s findings

Author:: Helen Acton
Publication Date:: 05-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: Gwede Mantashe, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, has threatened to judicially review the Zondo Commission’s (‘the Commission’) findings against him. This decision highlights legal and political weaknesses in South Africa’s democratic system. The law is unclear on whether the findings of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) could constitute administrative action reviewable in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA). This was not sufficiently dealt with by the High Court the only time it previously faced a judicial review of a COI’s findings. Even if COI findings could constitute administrative action, it seems that the Commission’s findings and recommendations concerning Mantashe in particular are unlikely to be reviewable in terms of PAJA. The principle of legality would be his most viable option for a legal challenge, but on analysis it is unlikely Mantashe would succeed on this basis either. Moreover, challenging the findings of this Commission on legally dubious grounds underscores political weaknesses in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, and consequently the electoral system more generally. Not only does the proposed challenge by a senior party member in Cabinet undermine the ANC’s steadfast commitment to end entrenched corruption, but it also demonstrates that the party’s step-aside rule is too narrow. The rule does not impose political accountability on members implicated by COI findings unless they are criminally charged by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). This sets the bar too low for political accountability, which should not be equated with criminal liability. The ANC’s lenient stepaside rule, and its members’ use of legal technicalities to avoid political accountability, is dangerous in a proportional representation system with a one-party-dominant legislature. Voters elect a party in a closed list system, and so depend entirely on the ruling party to hold its members individually accountable for wrongdoing. The ANC needs to prove to the electorate that it takes this job seriously.
Topic:: Natural Resources, Mining, Judiciary, and Energy
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

97. Racism, Xenophobia, and Misogynistic Prejudice in South Africa: A Case Study of Policy Interventions Since 1994

Author:: Masana Mulaudzi
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:: Masana Mulaudzi reminds us of the challenges of undoing years of structural racism at the country level even where there are good intentions at the start of the process. While the money to finance redistribution and investment hasn’t always been made available following the end of Apartheid in South Africa, the foundational legislation that introduced a progressive framework and implemented a transitional justice process—the Truth and Reconciliation Commission–has contributed to an environment where civil society can pursue litigation, social movements, and mass campaigns related to ending prejudice and promoting equitable and just policy implementation.
Topic:: Apartheid, Transitional Justice, Xenophobia, and Racism
Political Geography:: South Africa

98. Emerging Powers and Peacebuilding Financing: Recommendations for Finding Common Ground

Author:: Priyal Singh and Gustavo De Carvalho
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:: There is currently a North-South gap in discussions on peacebuilding financing, despite the fact that emerging powers are playing an increasingly important role in fragile and conflict-affected countries. Now is the moment to create opportunities for mutual engagement, coordination, and learning.
Topic:: Finance, Conflict, Emerging Powers, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: South Asia, Middle East, India, East Asia, South Africa, and Latin America

99. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Use of its Documentation: An Analysis

Author:: Proscovia Svard
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Social Science Research Council
Abstract:: This paper investigates the extent to which the documentation that was generated by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SATRC) is being used to promote the healing of a post-apartheid society. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are considered a primary human rights tool for post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction. They investigate gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, uncover the truth, and promote forgiveness. In this regard, TRCs use restorative justice which focuses on the rehabilitation of perpetrators through reconciliation with victims. They offer a platform for victims and perpetrators to share their experiences in an endeavor to repair the social fabric damaged by violent or structural conflict.1 TRCs are expected to help post-conflict societies transition from a past of human rights violations to a democratic and peaceful post-conflict society where human rights are respected. TRCs, through the documentation they produce, make it hard for the perpetrators to deny the truth
Topic:: Apartheid, Discrimination, Reconciliation, and Truth
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

100. Mitigating Post-Apartheid Xenophobic Violence Through Language

Author:: Chimaobi Onwukwe
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Social Science Research Council
Abstract:: This policy brief draws on field-based research on multilingual practices and identity navigation among Nigerian Igbo migrants, their motivations for their language use/choices and how these relate to evading xenophobic violence in South Africa. It also makes recommendations for mitigating the effects of xenophobic violence.
Topic:: Apartheid, Discrimination, Violence, Language, and Migrants
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS