South Africa’s constitutional democracy debate: echoes of an inglorious past
A constitution is only as good as the measure of effective protection it gives to those who differ, even radically, from the policies of the government.
Marriages of inconvenience: The fraught politics of coalitions in South Africa
South Africa’s political parties would do well to learn from Ireland, where the three largest political parties negotiated a coalition treaty over one hundred pages long.
South Africa’s labour market trends from 2009 to 2019: a lost decade?
By Derek Yu, Professor, Economics, University of the Western Cape and Charles Adams Lecturer, University of the Western Cape Unemployment remains one of South Africa’s most pressing economic and social…
Why have South Africans been on a looting rampage? Research offers insights
Research findings on looting, nonetheless, suggest that such phenomena are rarely caused by one thing.
Jacob Zuma: When did erstwhile South African revolutionary lose his way?
As president he was accused of working with an Indian family, the Guptas, in orchestrating “state capture” (seizing control of state organs for corrupt purposes).
Violence in South Africa: An uprising of elites, not of the people
The violence has been widely seen as an expression of anger and frustration by people living in poverty, which has been much worsened in South Africa by the impact of Covid-19.
South Africa in flames: Spontaneous outbreak or insurrection?
Poor and hungry people exist, and the state should be ashamed. But hungry people do not become violent looters on behalf of better-known looters who are in jail.
Conflating morality and the law do South Africa’s governing party no good
Morality shapes people’s lives, including their thoughts and actions, on the basis of what society generally accepts as right and wrong. It is used to check people’s “self-interested, emotional, or sentimental reactions to serious questions of human conduct”.