DOCSLIB.ORG

Volume 37 2010 Issue

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Volume 37 2010 Issue Review of African Political Economy Vol. 37, No. 123, March 2010, 107–108 BOOK REVIEW Mobile phones: the new talking drums of is still voluminous, yet fragmented (James everyday Africa, edited by Mirjam de 2005). Bruijn, Francis Nyamnjoh and Inge Brink- This compendium of research articles man, Bamenda, Langaa Research and Publish- (one in French and the rest in English), ing Common Initiative Group (RPCIG) and brought together by the African Studies Leiden, African Studies Centre, 2009, 184 Centre in Leiden and Langaa Research and pp., £19.95 (paperback), ISBN 9956558532 Publishing Common Initiative Group (RPCIG) in Cameroon, results from a work- In the year 2000 about one in 50 Africans shop in 2006. These articles focus, often had access to a mobile phone. By 2008 the within an historical context, on anthropolo- figure was one in three. When ROAPE dedi- gical, socio-economic, and cultural aspects cated a whole issue to information and com- of the uses made of mobile phones in munication technologies (ICTs) in Africa in African communities in recent years. The 2004 (Issue 99) this technical revolution was ways in which such phones are used vary just getting underway, and at that stage from society to society, users adapting people were more concerned with the these technologies to their needs and cul- ‘digital divide’, and Africa’s disadvantages tures in a variety of ways. It points the within global developments. The extent way to ICTs needing to be more structured and nature of ICT use in Africa over this to the needs and perspectives of their users. decade has jumped by leaps and bounds, The subjects of the articles range from with research into its impact on societies the impact of mobile phone use on the and economies scrabbling to keep up with nature of anthropological research, to rapidly changing and diverse circumstances. mobile phone callbox development in a A plethora of researchers has started small town in Cameroon, to societal following these developments, and their impacts of mobile phone use in a large city discussions appear in such fora as ICT for (Khartoum). One article reveals the limited Development (ICT4D) and Mobiles for use of mobile phones amongst tomato and Development (www.dgroups.org/groups/ potato traders in Tanzania because of the mDevelopment) with numerous confer- social importance of face-to-face contacts ences and exhibitions. As one of the in trading relations, and over-reaction to authors in this compendium says (p. 137), price signals resulting in flooded markets, however, ‘to date, very few studies have but also reveals the growth of ‘network systematically considered the key factors reception spots’ (where mobile phone- of mobile ICT use in developing countries equipped agents link suppliers and traders using data collected from individual consu- by phone). Another article looks at how mers.’ Less research has been undertaken poorer households access mobile phones on economic actors who use these technol- and the use of text messaging amongst ogies, and who operate outside of projects poor, often semi-literate people in Burkina sponsored by the aid industry. As Jeffrey Faso, while another one looks at the use of James has observed elsewhere, the literature the mobile phone for diagnoses, payments, ISSN 0305-6244 print/ISSN 1740-1720 online DOI: 10.1080/00233601003630252 http://www.informaworld.com 108 Book review medicine deliveries, and check-ups by a tra- Uganda (Commodity Exchange Project); ditional medical practitioner in Cameroon. MAPRONET (Market Access Promotion The last two articles look at the embodied Networks) in Ghana; CROMABU (Crops persona of an individual type of phone as Marketing Bureau) in Tanzania; KACE it changes with its users in Tanzania, and (Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange) Internet cafe´ use patterns and user objectives and Drumnet in Kenya – have established in Accra, Ghana, and their impact on travel ICT-based initiatives in relation to this and migratory objectives of Ghanaians. sub-sector in recent years. In a number of Although these articles bring out the these the beneficiaries and users have often many positive effects on social develop- been men, but increasingly (particularly in ment, economic opportunity and personal gender-conscious institutions), women are security afforded by mobile phones, they using such technologies. do not eschew the sometimes negative Limited research has been undertaken to aspects of crime organisation, abrupt social date, however, on how different operators in tension created from swift change, uncer- agricultural marketing systems have used tainty of location of user, trust difficulties, existing and available ICT technologies to fantasy creation, or phone use ‘addiction’, improve particular marketing functions. In and consumerist ‘status’ over productive some cases, previously radio-based price use that may also result from the develop- information systems have been replaced by ment and use of this technology. computer-based systems, and they in turn This compendium provides a rather dis- are being by-passed by individual-user parate, if sometimes interesting, collection mobile phone-based systems. The change of studies of ICT users. Much more still is rapid and use practices diverse. Some- needs to be researched on the changing times resistance is found, as in Magu District trends in ICT usage and their impacts in in Tanzania, where the Sukuma ethnic group both social and economic areas, focusing considered that information was seen as a on particular use needs, and how these are collective good, and that it should not be changing over time. Different approaches disseminated on an individual level: societal are needed for different groups, according norms in conflict with individualistic to their differing needs and their different assumptions of neo-classical economics! ITC access possibilities. A number of ICT projects have failed, because they cast their net too widely (no pun intended!), not focus- Reference ing sufficiently on user needs. James, J., 2005. Technological blending in the A group of us are focusing in this way age of the Internet: a developing country on the interface between ICTs and the func- perspective. Telecommunications Policy, 29, tioning of agricultural marketing systems. 285–296. A number of projects – e.g. Manobi in Senegal and South Africa; MISTOWA Vincent Tickner (Market Information Systems and Traders’ Government and Agricultural Marketing Organizations in West Africa) in West Consultants (GAMCO), UK Africa; IICD (International Institute for Email: [email protected] Communication and Development) in # 2010 Vincent Tickner Review of African Political Economy Vol. 37, No. 123, March 2010, 109–110 BOOK REVIEW The state of the state: institutional trans- The new non-racial government in South formation, capacity and political change Africa after May, 1994 inherited from the in South Africa, by Louis A. Picard, state system an authoritarian local level state administration that is tolerant of Johannesburg, Wits University Press, 2005, corruption and the institutionalised use of 390 pp., £26.50 (paperback), ISBN patronage in the public sector to advance 9781868144198 Afrikaner ethnic claims. This inherited institutionalised state dampened economic ‘Colonialism in Africa included a cultural and social development and weakened the hegemony that fractured pre-colonial insti- evolution of democratic civil society. (p. 5) tutions.’ (p. 15) Thus the institutional state becomes the ‘By 1999, the most pressing problem central theme in Picard’s exploration of facing the Government of National Unity the African National Congress (ANC)-led was its own bloated and corrupt public government’s evolving capacity for state service.’ (p. 278) restructuring and the task of building a The state of the state is a highly innovative developmental state in post-apartheid and superbly written text. The book centres South Africa. on three themes: first, the transformation of Through the prism of the institutional South Africa into a democratic post-apartheid state, the author undertakes in-depth state; second, the nature of the bureaucratic analysis of the legacy of colonialism on structures and political control mechanism the state in Africa. Picard draws on Craw- of the post-apartheid state; and finally, the ford Young’s theory of the African colonial transformation of the transitional bureaucratic state (1994), and the legacies of its insti- policy-making and implementation processes. tutional form for understanding the frailties The book starts its examination of the of its post-colonial successor. He empha- evolution of the modern state in South sises that throughout Africa colonialism rup- Africa by explicating the conceptual fron- tured the evolving state system and in most tiers of the institutional state in the post- cases pre-colonial polities were destroyed. apartheid era. It delves into the unfolding As a consequence, the colonial system transformation of the state via bureaucratic can be seen as having given birth to the processes by reflecting on the political modern post-colonial state (p. 15). Thus, control structures of the past that have sub- central to the institutionalised state argu- sequently resurfaced as defining challenges ment is an analysis of how colonialism in the task of state-building undertaken by resulted in what Mamdani (1996) calls the the non-racial government: the development ‘alien and bifurcated’ nature of the post- of a non-racial public service, a viable colonial state. Picard
Load more

Recommended publications
  • South Africa – Unemployment – White Unemployment - White Poverty – IT Salary – Unrest – Violence – Crime
    Migration Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA MRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: ZAF35454 Country: South Africa Date: 30 September 2009 Keywords: South Africa – Unemployment – White unemployment - White poverty – IT Salary – Unrest – Violence – Crime Questions 1. Please advise what is the latest information regarding job opportunities in South Africa? 2. What is the unemployment level and average wage of (IT) professionals in South Africa? 3 What are the most recent social indicators relating to how civil unrest, lawlessness and violence in South Africa affect middle class professionals? RESPONSE 1. Please advise what is the latest information regarding job opportunities in South Africa? According to the latest assessment from the World Bank, there are major disparities in income and wealth and the general unemployment rate is at 23.6%: South Africa is a country with extreme differences in incomes and wealth. Robust economic growth in the post-apartheid period has enabled a dramatic decline in income poverty. At the same time, inequality increased across race, gender and location. For example, inequality between racial groups as measured by the Gini coefficient rose from 0.64 to 0.69 in the period 1995-2005. Despite a 6 percentage point drop over the last six years, the country’s unemployment rate of 23.6% remains very high and poor people have limited access to economic opportunities and basic services (‘South Africa. Country Brief. Key Facts’, 2009, World Bank website, September, http://go.worldbank.org/GSBYF92330 - Accessed 23 September 2009 - Attachment 1) The above facts are corroborated in the following report which links the high unemployment level to violence: ...One of continent's biggest economies.
    [Show full text]
  • Morbidity and Mortality Patterns Among the Youth of South Africa, 2013
    Morbidity and mortality patterns among the youth of South Africa, 2013 Statistics South Africa Pali Lehohla Report No. 03-09-12 Statistician-General Statistics South Africa ii Morbidity and mortality patterns among the youth of South Africa, 2013 / Statistics South Africa Published by Statistics South Africa, Private Bag X44, Pretoria 0001 © Statistics South Africa, 2015 Users may apply or process this data, provided Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) is acknowledged as the original source of the data; that it is specified that the application and/or analysis is the result of the user's independent processing of the data; and that neither the basic data nor any reprocessed version or application thereof may be sold or offered for sale in any form whatsoever without prior permission from Stats SA. Stats SA Library Cataloguing-in-Publication (CIP) Data Morbidity and mortality patterns among the youth of South Africa, 2013 / Statistics South Africa. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa, 2015 Report No. 03-09-12 63pp ISBN 978-0-621-43794-2 A complete set of Stats SA publications is available at Stats SA Library and the following libraries: National Library of South Africa, Pretoria Division National Library of South Africa, Cape Town Division Library of Parliament, Cape Town Bloemfontein Public Library Natal Society Library, Pietermaritzburg Johannesburg Public Library Eastern Cape Library Services, King William’s Town Central Regional Library, Polokwane Central Reference Library, Nelspruit Central Reference Collection, Kimberley Central Reference
    [Show full text]
  • Protecting Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Immigrants in South Africa
    Protecting Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Immigrants in South Africa Johannesburg June 2009 Protecting Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Immigrants in South Africa Johannesburg 18 June 2009 www.CoRMSA.org.za Protecting Non‐Citizens in South Africa 2009| 2 About the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA) is a non‐profit, non‐ governmental organisation committed to the promotion and protection of refugee and migrant rights. It is comprised of member organisations and individuals dedicated to protecting the life and welfare of refugees, asylum seekers, and other international migrants entering or living in the Republic of South Africa. CoRMSA uses its membership network to advocate for rights‐based refugee and immigration policies and laws, promote best‐practice models, and encourage compliance with minimum international and national constitutional standards. In order to achieve these objectives, the CoRMSA programme includes advocacy, research, public awareness, capacity building, and networking. The Consortium’s members are: • Amnesty International, South Africa Chapter • The Black Sash • Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation • Christians for Peace in Africa • Coordinating Body of Refugee Communities • Durban Refugee Service Providers Network • Forced Migration Studies Programme, University of the Witwatersrand • Jesuit Refugee Service • Lawyers for Human Rights • Musina Legal Advice Office • Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa • Refugee Children’s Project • Refugee Ministries Centre • Refugee Pastoral Care • South African Red Cross Society • Southern Africa Centre for Survivors of Torture • Tutumike Refugee Network, Cape Town • University of Cape Town Law Clinic • University of the Witwatersrand Law Clinic Membership in the organisation is open to any South Africa‐based organisation or individual with an established record of work on behalf of refugees, asylum seekers, or other migrants.
    [Show full text]
  • The Remarkable Story of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo by Redi Tlhabi
    VOLUME 9 | SPRING 2020 INTERMEDIATING POLITICS THROUGH SUBJECTIVITY IN KHWEZI: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF FEZEKILE NTSUKELA KUZWAYO BY REDI TLHABI Ellie Vilakazi & Julieann Ulin Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters Abstract In 2005 Zuma was dismissed as deputy president of South Africa after his longtime friend and advisor, Schabir My contention is that literary journalism Shaik was sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption welds large, complex world phenomena that are not and fraud. The court discovered that Shaik made regular always readily understandable to people — war, large- payments to Zuma that totaled to 1.2 million rands scale migration, climate change and others — with the (US$178,000) thereby breaking anti-corruption laws reader through the narrator’s subjective experience. To (The Telegraph). On the 6th of December, later that year, evaluate this argument, I utilize Zuma was officially charged with rape. As the trial went In Khwezi: The Remarkable Story of Fezekile on it was discovered that the woman who accused Zuma Ntsukela Kuzwayo. Redi Tlhabi narrates the life of of rape was HIV positive. After being cross examined, Fezekile both before and after she brought charges against Zuma said that he took a shower after having intercourse the former president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. I because it "would minimise the risk of contracting the argue that this work of literary journalism has the ability disease [HIV]" (BBC News). to reconstruct the problematic narratives that surrounded The showerhead in the cartoon is meant to Fezekile during the time of the trial. Kwezi is written with serve as a visual representation for the comments that the intention of giving the reader information within one he made during the trial, the trial itself, as well as the body of work of South African politics and endeavors, not fact a few years after the trial, many South Africans only to explain what is happening, but helps the reader believed he was guilty despite the court ruling — which understand why something is happening.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of the Global Recession on South Africa (ARI)
    Area: Subsaharan Africa / International Economy & Trade ARI 114/2009 Date: 17/7/2009 The Impact of the Global Recession on South Africa (ARI) Hein Marais * Theme: This paper examines the impact of the global economic recession on South Africa’s economy and society, the ways in which the country’s government has chosen to respond to that crisis, and its likely social and political fall-out. Summary: Despite initial official denials, South Africa’s economy has entered in its first recession in almost two decades. The recession is predicted to last into 2010 and the social impact is likely to prove punishing. The African National Congress (ANC), re- elected to office in April, has pledged to cushion the shock with a package of measures that include an overhauled industrial policy. But a shift to the left in economic policy is highly unlikely, and the ANC remains ambivalent about further expanding its social grant system for the poor. A vibrant, ongoing tradition of social protest means that the political fall-out of the recession is difficult to predict. Analysis: Introduction South Africans have been known to think themselves different from the rest of Africa, a notion the Ugandan intellectual Mahmood Mamdani famously railed against in the 1990s as ‘South African exceptionalism’.1 But it is not often that they believe they are inoculated against the effects of a global calamity. And yet, until well into 2009, South Africa’s political and business elites seemed to languish in a state of denial and were broadcasting predictions of another year of positive economic growth, even as credit markets around the world asphyxiated and global demand dissolved.
    [Show full text]
  • OECD Economic Surveys
    OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa 2013 This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Please cite this publication as: OECD (2013), OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa 2013, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eco_surveys-zaf-2013-en ISBN 978-92-64-18230-1 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-18232-5 (PDF) Series: OECD Economic Surveys ISSN 0376-6438 (print) ISSN 1609-7513 (online) OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa ISSN 2218-6131 (print) ISSN 2218-614X (online) The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. Photo credit: Cover © Shutterstock/Sean Nel. Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda. © OECD 2013 You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgment of OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to [email protected]. Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at [email protected] or the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) at [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Urban Land Tenure, Tenancy and Water and Sanitation Services Delivery in South Africa
    URBAN LAND TENURE, TENANCY AND WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES DELIVERY IN SOUTH AFRICA SIBANDA, DARLINGTON (2841632) A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR PHILOSOPHIAE (PHD) IN LAND AND AGRARIAN STUDIES SUPERVISOR: PROF M. ISAACS PHD THESIS PRESENTED TO THE INSTITUTE FOR POVERTY, LAND AND AGRARIAN STUDIES (PLAAS): FACULTY OF ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE 2017 i DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my late parents, Magaret and James Makaya Nyama who planted and natured the seeds of hard work and diligence from a very early age. May your souls rest in peace. ii http://etd.uwc.ac.za/ DECLARATION I declare that Urban Land Tenure, Tenancy And Water And Sanitation Services Delivery In South Africa is my own work, and that it has not been submitted for any degree or examination in any other university, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by complete references. Full Name: Darlington Sibanda Date: Signature: iii http://etd.uwc.ac.za/ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To successfully complete Ph.D. studies, one gets support from several people. While l won’t be able to exhaust the list, l will mention just a few. Firstly, l would want to thank God for guiding me through my studies. This work would not have been possible without the help of Professor Isaacs, who took over after Dr Tapela could not continue due to ill-health. The amount of work we had to catch up in such a short space of time was incomparable.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Detection and Intervention in Audiology an African Perspective
    Early Detection and Intervention in Audiology An African Perspective Early Detection and Intervention in Audiology An African Perspective Edited by Katijah Khoza-Shangase and Amisha Kanji Published in South Africa by: Wits University Press 1 Jan Smuts Avenue Johannesburg 2001 www.witspress.co.za Compilation © Editors 2021 Chapters © Individual contributors 2021 Published edition © Wits University Press 2021 Images and figures © Copyright holders First published 2021 http://dx.doi.org.10.18772/22021026567 978-1-77614-656-7 (Paperback) 978-1-77614-661-1 (Hardback) 978-1-77614-657-4 (Web PDF) 978-1-77614-658-1 (EPUB) 978-1-77614-660-4 (Open Access PDF) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978. All images remain the property of the copyright holders. The publishers gratefully acknowledge the publishers, institutions and individuals referenced in captions for the use of images. Every effort has been made to locate the original copyright holders of the images reproduced here; please contact Wits University Press in case of any omissions or errors. This book is freely available through the OAPEN library (www.oapen.org) under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 Creative Commons License (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Project manager: Catherine Damerell
    [Show full text]
  • 'The Financialization of the South African Economy and Its Impact On
    1 UNDESA Paper ‘The financialization of the South African economy and its impact on economic growth and employment’ Sam Ashman, Seeraj Mohamed and Susan Newman 1 Introduction: South Africa’s changing MEC The South African economy, along with the global economy more generally, has become increasingly financialized since the early 1990s. Financialization is closely associated with neoliberal policies which have included the active promotion of financial sector interests and a changing role for the state, particularly through its withdrawal from direct ownership (through privatization) and from social provision. Financial markets and financial institutions have grown in both size and influence over the neoliberal period. Financialization is understood as changes in the structure and processes of capitalist accumulation. This has entailed important shifts in the relations between households, corporate business, and financial institutions. This shift has been from a situation where financial institutions have acted as intermediaries between household savers and investing firms towards a financial system that creates liquid markets where household investors can freely buy and sell claims on corporate earnings. Financialized financial institutions as issuers and dealers of financial paper are thus regulators of firm and household behavior and of the macroeconomic trajectory rather than unproblematic intermediaries between saving households and non-financial corporate businesses, or between banks and corporate businesses or between firms. (Froud et. al. 2002) How does corporate (financial and non-financial) and household behavior change after financialization? What are the consequences of these changes? To answer these questions we need to be aware of how financialization has affected different countries in specific ways, through the interaction between a variety of what we call channels of financialization.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of China-South Africa Relations: a Constructivist Interpretation
    The Evolution of China-South Africa Relations: A Constructivist Interpretation By Emmanuel Matambo A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Social Science in Political Science. Cluster of International and Public Affairs, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa June 2014 Supervisor: Dr. Khondlo Mtshali Contents Acknowledgements and dedication i Declaration ii Abstract iii Acronyms v Epigraph vii CHAPTER ONE: General Introduction Background 1 Outline of the Research Problem 3 Research Hypothesis 4 Reasons for choosing this study 5 Key questions to be asked 7 Objectives 7 Broader issues to be investigated 8 Research methodology 8 Limitations of Research 10 Structure of dissertation 11 CHAPTER TWO: Preliminary literature study and theoretical framework Introduction 12 International relations and the Concept of foreign policy 12 Realism in International Relations 14 China under the Realist Prism 18 China and Africa 22 China-South Africa Relations 26 Justification for a New Approach of Understanding China’s International Relations 30 Conclusion for Literature Review 33 Theoretical Framework: Constructivism General Understanding of Constructivism 37 The Influence of Identities and Interests in the Formation of International Relations 41 Rationale behind the use of Constructivism for this Research 43 Conclusion 44 CHAPTER THREE: The epochs of China-South Africa relations Introduction 47 The First Epoch of China-South Africa Relations:
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Use of 'New Media' in the 2014 South African National Election
    The Political Use of ‘New Media’ in the 2014 South African National Election Daniël Malherbe Thesis submitted according to the requirements for the degree of MA International Studies in the Faculty of Political Science at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof. Pieter Fourie Co-Supervisor: Prof. Amanda Gouws March 2015 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Declaration By submitting this thesis/dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Date: November 2014 Copyright © 2015 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract New media is seen as having a big impact on the way modern political parties run their campaigns during election periods. This paper focuses on answering the question: How was new media used in the 2014 South African national election? It does this by creating a context regarding the understanding of what new media is, how it is used in politics, and what impact it has on electioneering and political campaign strategies. Three case studies, the Obama campaign and the 2014 Indian and Brazilian elections, are used to highlight how new media has impacted on elections. This analysis is then framed into a set of criteria for success that is used to measure the chosen South African political parties against, to determine whether or not they used new media well in the 2014 South African national election.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of the Media in a Democracy: Unravelling the Politics Between the Media, the State and the ANC in South Africa
    The role of the media in a democracy: Unravelling the politics between the media, the state and the ANC in South Africa. Research Question: What is the intersection between the floating signifier, „Democracy‟ and an independent press? Glenda Daniels A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Studies Johannesburg, 10 December 2010 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to all independent journalists in South Africa, as well as to those in the rest of Africa, who often risk imprisonment, and sometimes even their lives, to tell the stories of the continent. ii Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own unaided work. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination in any other university Glenda Daniels Signature Date iii Acknowledgments I thank my supervisor Professor Sheila Meintjes for her intellectual direction, rigour and for creating and generously hosting for a year, the Politics and Media Discussion Group. This group met once a month, presented papers, and debated issues related to media and democracy in a most robust and stimulating manner in 2009. The group consisted of Anton Harber, Jane Duncan, Nathalie Hyde-Clark, Lesley Cowling, Franz Kruger, Dumisani Moyo, Kate Skinner and Sheila Meintjes. I am indebted to my MA supervisor Peter Hudson for introducing me to the world of political philosophy. This interest began with him and will be sustained beyond this research project. I wish to thank the National Research Foundation and the South Africa/Swiss Joint Research Programme for providing financial assistance, in the form of scholarships and bursaries, over the past three years.
    [Show full text]