Abstract
The South African political environment: Strategic perspectives This article is concerned with reconstructing and interpreting the South African political environment in 2016 and the strategic implications thereof. There is currently widespread consensus that the South African political environment is becoming increasingly unstable. Some have even labelled the current political situation perfect storm. The resulting outcomes of this state of affairs include patterns of political and social instability, the securocratisation of the state, and a postcolonial dynamic manifesting in anti-colonial and anti-Western sentiments. The manner in which the aforementioned factors interact with each other creates a politically unstable environment with far reaching consequences for public institutions in general, and universities in particular. Until recently, universities were relatively insulated from the dynamic and disruptive political forces in society. This situation changed irrevocably after 2015 with the advent of the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall campaigns and demands for rapid transformation of the higher education sector. At the time of finalising this paper, a second wave of #FeesMustFall has commenced with revolutionary violence affecting virtually all university campuses across South Africa. Prominent political, economic and social drivers of change currently define a scenario of punctuated equilibrium in the political environment. These drivers, and their possible outcomes, are analysed with specific reference to South African universities.
Highlights
D Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, Jaargang 56 No 4-1: Desember 2016 doi.10.17159/2224-7912/2016/v56n4-1a3 anti-Western sentiments
At the time of finalising this paper, a second wave of #FeesMustFall has commenced with revolutionary violence affecting virtually all university campuses across South Africa
Economic and social drivers of change currently define a scenario of punctuated equilibrium in the political environment
Summary
Twintig jaar virn nuwe bewind (lees veral bevrydingsbewegings binnen postkoloniale konteks) word telkens geassosieer met die moontlikheid van groter makro politieke verandering binne die onderskeie politieke en staatkundige kontekste van state. Sedert Jacob Zuma die politieke bewind in Suid-Afrika oorgeneem het, het bogenoemde perspektief ook groter betekenis begin ontwikkel binne die Suid-Afrikaanse politieke omgewing en was die uitspeel hiervan aanvoelbaar op elke terrein van die groter samelewing met inbegrip van Universiteite. Hierdie verandering kan verreikende implikasies hê vir bestaande politieke waardesisteme en die interpretasie hiervan, die gesaghebbende toewysing van waardes en skaars middele, die plek en rol van politieke elites in die groter samelewing en dit kan selfsn vorm van “regime verandering” impliseer. Die Suid-Afrikaanse politiek is tans vasgevang inn greep van ingrypende verandering (ʼn vorm van gebroke ekwilibrium) wat vooruitskouend al beskryf is in terme vann tweede transformasie; die noodsaak en behoefte aann opvolgskikking, ʼn Tunisië-moment; “[A] ticking time bomb waiting to explode” (vergelyk Duvenhage 2016a:1-2; vergelyk ook Habib 2013). Aan elkeen van hierdie kategorieë word vervolgens kortliks aandag gegee
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