Emergence Of Africa Research Articles

Unlawful Occupiers, Eviction and the National State of Disaster: Considering South Africa's Emergency Legislation and Jurisprudence During COVID-19

AbstractThis article analyses how emergency regulations protected persons living in urban poverty, particularly unlawful occupiers, from eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. It is set against the socio-economic and environmental effects of unlawful occupiers being forced onto the streets through evictions. It examines the judicial interpretation and application of the COVID-19 regulations on the prohibition of the eviction of unlawful occupiers, together with remedies for compensation for demolished dwellings. Ultimately, the article shows that the regulatory and judicial responses to the pandemic were pro-poor and sought to protect human dignity, the right to life, and the right to an environment that is not detrimental to human health and well-being. The responses safeguarded access to housing at a time when many vulnerable people could have been rendered homeless by eviction and the demolition of their dwellings.

Africa's Emergent Public Sphere

[There] appears to be a generally more assertive public sphere, with an ebullience strikingly in excess of the technological resources at its disposal. Seventh in a series on public spheres around the world.

The politics of identity, belonging and the integration of African professional migrants in post-apartheid South Africa

Since the fall of apartheid and South Africa's emergence into a democratic state, there has been an unprecedented influx of migrants of various professional backgrounds, from the rest of the African continent. This influx constitutes a major challenge to defining the demographics, and understanding their implications on notions of belonging and integration within the state. This article will be looking at the political and institutional structures in place, which either facilitate or constrain a sense of belonging and integration of professional migrants of African origin into the new democratic state of South Africa. Discussions in this article are based on a qualitative in-depth study conducted among established and emerging foreign scholars of African origin at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The research was premised on the perceived problems of identity, belonging as well as integration that are generally affecting foreign nationals in the country. In connection with this, the researcher sought to explore the extent to which migrants are utilising the opportunity structures that are in place (both within the academia and broader the national community) to negotiate their belonging and integration within the institution and South Africa. The findings portray that as much as there are structures and policies in place both institutionally and nationally that determine the status quo of migrants' belonging and integration, the outcomes usually do not resonate with such policies or structures. Most migrants regardless of whether they are citizens, permanent residents or are on work permit, still face resistance from local South Africans who see them as a threat, and above all as strangers in the land. Keywords: Belonging, foreign African academics, identity, Integration, and South Africa

Africa's food security in a broken global food system: what role for plant breeders’ rights?

The food security discourse has moved from the historic emphasis on increased food production and the eradication of hunger to a holistic and multidisciplinary outlook under the food system model. However, the importance of the legal dimensions of the food system discourse has yet to be fully felt or demonstrated within the diverse disciplinary and policy spaces for understanding the food security and food system interface. This article focuses on contemporary developments in Africa on plant breeders’ rights (PBRs) – an important aspect of law and policy on innovation over plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. It observes that the focus of recent legal developments on PBRs in Africa diverges from the centrality of smallholder farmers as the principal food and agricultural producers on the continent. Critically focusing on Africa's emergent policy reversal in favour of PBRs, the article underscores how legal developments are integral to fully understanding the dynamics of food security within a fractured global food system, especially as they relate to the African continent.

The Political Economy of Africa's Emergent Middle Class: Retrospect and Prospects

AbstractThis special issue introduction provides a historical perspective in order to contextualize the political economy of Africa's emergent middle class. In doing so, three overarching research questions are discussed to better understand the middle class' transformative potential. First, who constitute Africa's middle class and how has this concept changed over time? Second, what dynamics explain the growth of this group? Third, what are the implications of the middle class for good governance and pro‐poor policies? The contributions of each of the articles in the special issue to answering these specific questions for Africa's contemporary middle class are then briefly discussed. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of International Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

South Africa's Emergency Housing Programme: A prism of urban contest

The Emergency Housing Programme (EHP) is an important subsidy tool in South Africa. The EHP was designed to realise the right to housing and ensure that municipalities rapidly respond to emergency housing situations. However, the programme's implementation has been harshly critiqued by activists, academics, and even other state departments, for a range of valid reasons. This paper explores the findings of a year-long research project consisting mainly of case studies, interviews, workshops and policy review aimed at understanding these criticisms. The research found that the EHP implementers are constrained by conflicted urban development imperatives that include: systemic housing demand, building investment-friendly and efficient cities, and other developmental programmes. This paper argues for a reading of the implementation of EHP as problematic prioritisation, rather than simply one of poor provision. In this way, EHP serves as a prism for urban contest and advocate for more strategic, holistic, and progressive urban decision-making.

The Janus Faces of a Middle Power: South Africa's Emergence in International Development

South Africa's rising international presence is undeniable. The country has recently joined the BRICS club of powerful emerging countries, is in the G20, is a member of IBSA (the India–Brazil–South Africa Dialogue Forum) and has aspirations to become a permanent member of a potentially reformed UN Security Council. Furthermore, South Africa has set up a new international development agency, a key marker of a middle power. And yet South Africa is not a typical middle power, given that half of its citizens live below the poverty line. Through various methods such as print and online media content analysis and interviews with policy-makers, journalists, civil society and international donors between 2009 and 2011, this paper examines the two different and divergent faces of South African politics – one focused on the domestic development state and the other focused on its international middle power aspirations.

Writing Africa into the World and Writing the World from Africa:

Writing Africa into the World and Writing the World from Africa:

Global partnerships: Expanding the frontiers of space exploration education

Globalization is creating an interdependent space-faring world and new opportunities for international partnerships that strengthen space knowledge development and transfer. These opportunities have been codified in the Global Exploration Strategy, which endorses the “inspirational and educational value of space exploration” [1]. Also, during the 2010 Heads of Space Agencies Summit celebrating the International Academy of Astronautics’ (IAA) 50th Anniversary, space-faring nations from across the globe issued a collective call in support of robust international partnerships to expand the frontiers of space exploration and generate knowledge for improving life on Earth [2].Educators play a unique role in this mission, developing strategic partnerships and sharing best educational practices to (1) further global understanding of the benefits of space exploration for life on Earth and (2) prepare the next generation of scientists required for the 21st Century space workforce. Educational Outreach (EO) programs use evidence-based, measurable outcomes strategies and cutting edge information technologies to transfer space-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) knowledge to new audiences; create indigenous materials with cultural resonance for emerging space societies; support teacher professional development; and contribute to workforce development initiatives that inspire and prepare new cohorts of students for space exploration careers. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) have sustained a 13-year space science education partnership dedicated to these objectives.This paper briefly describes the design and achievements of NSBRI's educational programs, with special emphasis on those initiatives' involvement with IAA and the International Astronautical Congress (IAC). The IAA Commission 2 Draft Report, Space for Africa, is discussed as a model for developing sustainable partnerships and indigenous programs that support Africa's steady emergence as a global space-faring force. The IAC will provide timely: 2011 South Africa will provide timely feedback to refine that report's strategies for space life sciences education and public engagement in Africa and around the globe.

Perceptions of graduates from Africa's first emergency medicine training program at the University of Cape Town/Stellenbosch University

Africa's first postgraduate training program in emergency medicine (EM) was established at the University of Cape Town/Stellenbosch University (UCT/SUN) in 2004. This study of the UCT/SUN EM program investigated the backgrounds, perceptions, and experiences of its graduates. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The study population was the 30 graduates from the first four classes in the UCT/SUN EM program (2007-2010). We employed a scripted interview with a combination of closed and open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using the thematic method of qualitative analysis. Twenty-seven (90%) graduates were interviewed. Initial career goals were primarily (78%) to practice EM in a nonacademic clinical capacity. At the time of the interview, 52% held academic positions, 15% had nonacademic clinical positions, and 33% had temporary positions and were looking for other posts. The three most commonly cited strengths of their program were diversity of clinical rotations (85%), autonomy and procedural experience (63%), and importance of being pioneers within Africa (52%). The three most commonly cited weaknesses were lack of bedside teaching in the ED (96%), lack of career options after graduation (74%), and lack of preparation for academic careers (70%). The lessons identified from structured interviews with graduates from Africa's first EM training include the importance of strong clinical training, difficulty of ensuring bedside teaching in a new program, the necessity of ensuring postgraduation positions, and the need for academic training. These findings may be useful for other developing countries looking to start EM training programs.

46 Perceptions of Graduates From Africa's First Emergency Medicine Training Program at the University of Cape Town/Stellenbosch University

Objective: Africa’s first postgraduate training program in emergency medicine (EM) was established at the University of Cape Town/Stellenbosch University (UCT/SUN) in 2004. This study of the UCT/SUN EM program investigated the backgrounds, perceptions, and experiences of its graduates. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The study population was the 30 graduates from the first four classes in the UCT/SUN EM program (2007–2010). We employed a scripted interview with a combination of closed and open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using the thematic method of qualitative analysis. Results: Twenty-seven (90%) graduates were interviewed. Initial career goals were primarily (78%) to practice EM in a nonacademic clinical capacity. At the time of the interview, 52% held academic positions, 15% had nonacademic clinical positions, and 33% had temporary positions and were looking for other posts. The three most commonly cited strengths of their program were diversity of clinical rotations (85%), autonomy and procedural experience (63%), and importance of being pioneers within Africa (52%). The three most commonly cited weaknesses were lack of bedside teaching in the ED (96%), lack of career options after graduation (74%), and lack of preparation for academic careers (70%). Conclusions: The lessons identified from structured interviews with graduates from Africa’s first EM training include the importance of strong clinical training, difficulty of ensuring bedside teaching in a new program, the necessity of ensuring postgraduation positions, and the need for academic training. These findings may be useful for other developing countries looking to start EM training programs.

One child, one world, and one permit expired

Demographer Maurice King calls for a one-child world, in which the planet's inhabitants restrict themselves to a solitary heir or heiress for the betterment of humankind and to deliver us from “entrapment,” the deadly curse of exhausted food supplies and civil war that comes with overpopulation. Africa, King argues, is a continent in the throes of entrapment and, although a commission sponsored by politicians and rubber stamped by pop stars has identified governance as the primary obstacle to Africa's emergence from poverty, it would be an error to sideline a debate on demography. The Commission for Africa promises much—an …

Structural Adjustment as an Inadvertent Enemy of Human Development in Africa

African economies have experienced numerous disruptions since the 1980s, while other parts of the world have significantly prospered. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has become impoverished in absolute and real terms, and today faces the need for some form of an economic miracle. According to the harsh verdict of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Africa is unable to point to any significant growth rate or satisfactory index of general well-being in the past two decades. To a substantial degree, these two international organizations have themselves to blame. Following Africa's emergence as independent nations after the collapse of colonialism in 1960, too many African nations immersed themselves in debt, overspending on public enterprises, public employment, excessive military, and, all too often, cronyism and corruption. Their currencies collapsed, and debt repayment ceased. When these troubled nations sought assistance, the international lending agencies justifiably demanded reforms classified as structural adjustment. However, structural adjustment programs (SAPs) and stabilization policies have seldom delivered on their promises. Even worse, the available evidence suggests that they have accentu-

The UDF: a history of the United Democratic Front in South Africa, 1983-1991

The new South Africa cannot be understood without a knowledge of the history of the UDF and its role in the transition to democracy. As Professor Gail Gerhart has written, Without the UDF, the politics of the contemporary ANC would have been entirely different, its accession to power more difficult, and the character of its subsequent actions undoubtedly both different and probably much less successful. The UDF was far more than a John the Baptist to the ANC's second coming: it was actually the mechanism through which the ANC, in exile for 30 years, effected its successful return, adaptation and reintegration as South Africa's post-apartheid government. This is a major study of an organisation that transformed South African politics in the 1980s. By co-ordinating popular struggles on the ground and promoting the standing of the African National Congress, the UDF played a central role in the demise of apartheid and paved the way for South Africa's emergence as a democracy. Based on extensive documentary and interview sources, this title traces the UDF's birth, career and dissolution. It is a remarkable tale of strategic and tactical decision-making: of how opponents of apartheid made choices that helped to seal the fate of white domination whilst avoiding the general bloodbath that always threatened. Jeremy Seekings is an associate professor in the sociology department at the University of Cape Town. He is the author of a book on youth politics in the 1980s as well as many articles on politics and society in South Africa.

The Pivotal State: Post-Apartheid South Africa

In April 1999 Thabo Mbeki became second democratically elected President of Republic of South Mbeki succeeded Nelson Mandela, whose own election in 1994 marked climax of most important political transition in history of modern his countrymen, majority of whom were voting for first time, Mandela's election signified end of 46 years of white minority rule under South Africa's increasingly oppressive apartheid government. Instituted by South African Nationalist Party in 1948, apartheid (separateness) sought separate of South Africa's races. Apartheid provided policy framework for maintenance of minority rule through institutionalized social, economic, political, and legal segregation of South African whites, blacks, Indians, and Coloreds (people of mixed race). Prior Mandela's election, internal resistance apartheid had driven South Africa brink of civil war, and regional and international opposition South Africa's racial had left country a pariah state, largely isolated from rest of international community. Since end of apartheid South Africa has made significant progress toward overcoming legacy of this politically and economically fragile race-based system which denied full rights majority of its people. Six years after Mandela's election, South Africa is by far most advanced democracy in The end of apartheid also has allowed South Africa end its previous international isolation. The country's government aspires both a position of regional political leadership and one of influence in international organizations. South Africa also has emerged as one of Africa's leading trading nations and a key center of foreign, including US, investment in region. South Africa's economy alone accounts for 40 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's total gross domestic product (GDP). Excluding oil imports, South Africa accounts for 60 percent of US trade with Africa and one-quarter of US capital investment in region. [1] South Africa's demonstrated commitment democratic governance and peaceful political change and its level of industrial and economic development in comparison other African states, along with its military capabilities, mark it as Sub-Saharan Africa's state. A pivotal state is one which is: so important that its collapse would spell transboundary mayhem: migration, communal violence, pollution, disease, and so on. A pivotal state's steady economic progress and stability, on other hand, would bolster [its] region's economic vitality and political soundness and benefit American trade and investment. [2] South Africa's emergence as Sub-Saharan Africa's pivotal state is of strategic importance for United States. During its tenure Clinton Administration has made an unprecedented effort foster engagement with nations of Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that has traditionally been of only peripheral strategic interest United States. For too much of this century, President Clinton said, the relationship between United States and Africa was plagued by indifference on our part. [3] One aim of President Clinton's March 1998 visit Sub-Saharan African was to persuade an American audience with few notions of continent that Africa not only exists, but matters. [4] The broad outlines of a US policy approach Africa began emerge in May 1993 when, in a speech African-American Institute, Secretary of State Warren Christopher announced that United States sought a new relationship with Africa. Unlike during Cold War, when US policies toward Africa were...determined not by how they affected Africa, but whether [they] brought advantage or disadvantage Washington or Moscow, American relations with African states would now be based upon our common interests and shared values. …

South Africa's emergence as a middle power

This article seeks to explain South Africa's ostensible emergence as a middle power. It makes the case for the use of a Coxian-based critical theory perspective, which relates the interrelationship between change at the level of world order, the nature of production and the social forces operative in the middle power's state-societal complex to explain South Africa's increasingly active role in international affairs. Playing a mediatory role helps the South African state make diverse foreign policy goals more compatible and it also goes some way in thwarting criticism levelled at its foreign policy in the state-societal domain. Contrary to earlier theorising about middle powers, this article supports a more recent contention that middle powers act in their own (ie dominant societal) interests. The value of such a perspective is illustrated in the light of current debates about the apparent incongruity of South African foreign policy.

Tropical Africa's Emergence as a Banana Supplier in the Inter-War Period

The German project in the Southern Cameroons the French banana projects in Africa the Italian project in Somalia Banana projects elsewhere in Africa conclusions.

South African and Singaporean exporters: Their attitudes, information sources and export problems

South Africa's emergence from years of political and regulatory trade barriers has focussed attention on South African exporters. In a replication of Elliot Krasnostein's study of 54 Singaporean exporters, the perceptions, attitudes and characteristics of a representative sample of 321 experienced South African exporters and their decision makers were investigated. Consistent with other international studies, the results suggest that managerial, organizational and environmental forces and perceptions motivate export behaviour. However, South African firms clearly are responding to unique situational factors and national export resources as well. The findings indicate that managerial leadership, supportive attitudes and extensive exporting experience are widely available in South Africa. Secondary information sources could be improved and freight costs reduced to improve South African export effectiveness.

Britain, South Africa and the Entente Internationale de L'Acier: The development of the South African iron and steel industry 1934–1945

Abstract The development of the iron and steel industry in South Africa, late by comparison with the other Dominions and India, began in earnest with the formation of the South African Iron and Steel Corporation (Iscor) in 1928. Iscor, under the direction of Dr H.J. van der Bijl, built an integrated iron and steel plant at Pretoria West which was opened in August 1934. Great significance was attached to the construction of Iscor because the possession of an iron and steel industry was intrinsically linked to South Africa's emergence as an independent country. 1 Even the previously sceptical Rand Daily Mail declared proudly that it was an indication that “South Africa [was] passing into its Steel Age”, 2 and indeed it was, but it was to prove a difficult passage.

South Africa: In Transition to What?

Foreword by Helen Kitchen South Africa: What Kind of Change? by William J. Foltz The Process of Decision Making in Contemporary South Africa by Robert I. Rotberg A Guide to Black Politics in South Africa Steven McDonald Black Education in South Africa: Key or Chimera? by John A. Marcum Destabilization and Dialogue: South Africa's Emergence as a Regional Superpower by John de St. Jorre Eight New Realities in Southern Africa Heribert Adam and Stanley Uys Seven Scenarios for South Africa by Robert I. Rotberg A Fundamental Shift in South African Politics? by Ken Owen People's Power: A Beginning, Not an End by Zelakhe Sisulu South Africa: A Reporter's Notebook John de St. Jorre Sanctions: Another Way by Michael Spicer The 1987 Elections by Heribert Adam Index