A Judiciary under Siege:

Reflections on the Judicial Service Commission 2021 Judges’ Interviews

The paper traces the history of relations between the judiciary and other arms of government from the Mandela era in 1994 through to the presidential terms of Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa. Focus then shifts to the themes emerging in the interviews. These themes are reflective of the challenges that the judiciary has experienced in recent times.

Südafrikas Rolle in der internationalen Entwicklungspolitik

Hohe Ambitionen und beschränkte Möglichkeiten einer afrikanischen Regionalmacht

Mit der Reihe „Monitor Entwicklungspolitik“ widmet sich die Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung der Rolle nicht-traditioneller Geber in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Dieses Mal werfen wir einen Blick auf Südafrika, das zwar aufgrund begrenzter Möglichkeiten nicht als klassisches Geberland gelten kann, sich jedoch insbesondere auf multilateraler Ebene für eine Zusammenarbeit im Sinne seiner Prinzipien einsetzt.

Assessing Effectiveness of Questions for Executive Reply

Questions for Written Reply is an oversight tool that allows MPs to submit written questions to Members of the Executive, seeking information that is usually not readily available elsewhere, to which they must receive a corresponding reply. This tool is widely used, particularly by opposition MPs, but there are shortcomings in its implementation. The focal point of this paper is that many Ministers do not meet the 10-day reply deadline, sometimes answering months later, even though some questions are urgent in nature.

25 years of the South African Constitution

Reflections and Realisations

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the South African Constitution. This paper details how the Constitution serves as a framework towards a peaceful and just society for all. The aim here is not to be triumphal in commemoration, nor simply be conservative in observation. Instead, the paper affirms that the Constitution is only valid and powerful when its ideals are practiced. It looks at how the guiding values and principles of the Constitution are used and abused. Herein language matters. It is our use of language that offers the clearest measure of Constitutionalism. It is through language that we put ideals into motion. It is also through language that our value system is repudiated, and our Constitutional order is impaired.

Südafrika: Ex-Präsident Zuma in Beugehaft

Am 7. Juli hat der ehemalige Präsident Jacob Zuma (African National Congress, ANC) eine 15-monatige Beugehaft angetreten. Grund für die Haft ist nicht die Verurteilung für die Vielzahl von Korruptions- und Veruntreuungsskandalen in Milliardenhöhe, in die Zuma verwickelt ist, sondern seine Missachtung des Verfassungsgerichts und der untergeordneten Untersuchungskommission zu „State Capture“. In chaotisch verlaufenen Tagen zuvor versuchte Zuma vergeblich, sich mit Hilfe von orchestrierten Demonstrationen oder juristischer Hilfsmittel der angeordneten Haft zu entziehen. Einerseits wird Zumas Haftantritt in den Medien als Sieg des Rechtsstaats gefeiert, andererseits bestehen weiterhin Zweifel, ob Zuma die Haft in Gänze absitzen und für seine dunklen Machenschaften zu Zeiten seiner Präsidentschaft überhaupt zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden wird. Ein Ende von Korruption und Vetternwirtschaft im ANC ist nicht in Sicht.

Countering the corrupt

The what, who, where, why and how-to of countering corruption

"This book pulls together the themes discussed at four conferences on the topic which were held from 2014 to 2018 and which were organised by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa , which campaigns as Accountability Now and of which the author is a co-founder and a director. The book succeeds admirably in achieving its main aim, which is to provide, in what the author calls ‘a digestible and easily accessible format’, the gist of those discussions." -Forward By: Mr Justice I G Farlam

Effective Multilateralism in Difficult Times? Evaluating Germany’s and South Africa’s Term at the UN Security Council, 2019–2020

For the second time since 2011 and 2012, Germany and South Africa served together as elected members of the UN Security Council in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, both countries also held regional leadership positions in the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) respectively.

For the second time since 2011 and 2012, Germany and South Africa served together as elected members of the UN Security Council in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, both countries also held regional leadership positions in the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) respectively. With rising geopolitical tensions among the great powers, regional powers are attributed an important but difficult role: facilitating effective multilateralism in a time of increasing tensions and further fragmentation of global governance institutions. As liberal democracies, regionally leading countries and economically dominant powers, they are theoretically predestined to leave a constructive imprint on global politics. However, the role and influence of the elected members (E10) also depends on their ability to seek and craft consent on controversial issues, not only in relation to veto-holding powers but also among themselves. This paper evaluates how Germany and South Africa have managed their term in the Security Council. Have both countries been able to craft a stronger E10 partnership, or have persisting great power rivalries and disparate national interests and values distanced the two countries from one another? What opportunities for enhanced cooperation have emerged and in which areas do fundamental differences remain?

Anticipatory Governance in SADC: Reducing Disaster Risk After COVID-19

Humans exist in complex adaptive socio-ecologically linked systems that interact, learn, react, change and adapt.

Building Anticipatory Governance in SADC: Post-COVID-19 Conflict and Defence Outlook

Over the past four decades, SADC has been able to substantially advance the strategic goal of regional cooperation, coordination and eventual integration on many levels and is a prominent fixture on the Southern African landscape.

Building Anticipatory Governance in SADC: Post-COVID-19 Governance Outlook

The paper argues that existing governance systems in the region generally fall short of the adaptive capacity required to navigate complex and volatile problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic