South Africa's Current Transition in Temporal and Spatial Context

This article analyses South Africa's current postapartheid transition in the light of earlier transformations of its social and economic order. The first of these prior transformations is the abolition of slavery and the shift to liberal capitalism, which took place in the early nineteenth century. The second is the rapid industrialization of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Each of these transformations, as well as the current transition, is explained as being partly the outcome of a broad shift in capitalist practice, innovated in the metropoles of the global economy. Due to South Africa's situation within global economic networks, each of these shifts, at different times, raised the threat of a dislocation in South Africa's prevailing social order. However, each prior transformation and, it will be argued, the current transition, has been 'managed' by established elites so as to ensure minimal change to the overall distribution of privilege. This conservative 'management' of shifts in capitalist practice, it is suggested, has been facilitated through South African elites' historic engagement with cultural discourses circulating across a global terrain. In this article then, contemporary South Africa is located within both material and discursive networks which have historically influenced the country's distribution of privilege.     

The new South Africa's foreign policy: principles and practice

This article outlines principles which, shortly before taking office in 1994, the ANC said would be the foundation for its future foreign policy. The ANC stated that their core concern was the pursuit of 'human rights', which were directly related to the promotion of democracy. Other principles included respect for international law, support for peace and disarmament, and universality. These were to be pursued in four settings. First, the global division between the First and Third Worlds as the government was concerned about economic inequality and unjust global trading systems. Second, international organizations as these were seen as central to the search for human rights, peace and equality. Third, demilitarization resulting in South Africa's forces being used for self-defence and peacemaking and keeping only. The government believed that this would produce savings which could be redirected into social development. Finally, supporting the rest of Africa as the ANC believed South Africa could not flourish if surrounded by poverty. The article examines how far the ANC governments of Presidents Mandela and Mbeki have succeeded in implementing the principles, and how far they have fallen short. The article also includes a discussion of Mbeki's policy towards Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.     

The Movement, modernity and new International Relations writing in South Africa

Books reviewed in this article:
Korwa Gombe Adar and Rok Ajulu, Globalization and emerging trends in African states' foreign policymaking processes: a comparative perspective of Southern Africa.
Patrick Bond, Against global apartheid: South Africa meets the World Bank, IMF and international finance.
Greg Mills, The wired world: South Africa, foreign policy and globalization.
Philip Nel, Ian Taylor and Janis van der Westhuizen, South Africa's multilateral diplomacy and global change: the limits of reformism.
Ian Taylor, Stuck in middle GEAR: South Africa's post–apartheid foreign relations.     

中国的和平崛起与对外移民

在中国和世界移民史的框架内,从中国的人口政策、经济发展战略、外资的引进和城市化与就业政策等角度,对中外社会经济性质及移民政策进行比较分析。认为,中国的人口政策和经济发展战略保持了极低的对外移民率;随着中国的和平崛起,未来中国国际移民与人口比例将比当时欧洲崛起时低得多、“移民峰”的时段也将比欧洲当年的时段短得多。     

South Africa and the African Renaissance

This article addresses the question of the new South Africa's relationships with other countries in Africa in the context of the idea of an 'African Renaissance' which has recently gained currency. The authors identify two opposing conceptions of Africa's development, which they call 'globalist' and 'Africanist' respectively, and explore the tensions besetting South Africa's participation in an 'Africanist' project. They discuss the dilemma of South Africa's role on the continent as both an obvious and an impossible candidate for leadership, and argue for an 'Africanist' and post-structuralist approach to the political, economic and cultural development of the African continent.     

Trading Spaces: Imagining and Positioning the 'New' South Africa within the Regional and Global Economies

The end of apartheid has precipitated rapid rethinking of South Africa's position in relation to the rest of Africa and the global arena. Whereas a substantial literature already exists on the country's evolving post-apartheid foreign policy, this article offers one of the first critical analyses of its emerging external economic relations. Although clearly the economic giant of the Southern African Development Community, South Africa does not perform as well on all economic and social indicators as many people, especially South Africans, believe. South African businesses' perception of, and experiences in, the rest of Africa are assessed in relation to emerging patterns of trade and investment there. Selected advertisements and associated imagery deployed by firms in support of their strategies are analysed in the context of domestic transformation and the opening of new horizons abroad. South African foreign direct invest-ment (FDI) is increasingly diversified, both sectorally and geographically, although large firms dominate the profile. South African-based transnational corporations are also becoming increasingly influential global players. FDI and development aid inflows to South Africa, and in relation to the rest of Africa, are analysed and their implications explored. Far Eastern investment rose fast as part of a growing global inflow until 1997/8; more recent figures are disappointing. This reflects political and security concerns, as well as vulnerability to rapid flow reversal in the increasingly important portfolio investment market.     

From International to Global Development: New Geographies of 21st Century Development

Recent claims of 21^st century global convergence and the ‘rise of the South’ suggest a profound and ongoing redrawing of the global map of development and inequality. This article synthesizes shifting geographies of development across economic, social and environmental dimensions, and considers their implications for the ‘where’ of development. Some convergence in aggregate development indicators for the global North and South during this century challenge, now more than ever, the North–South binary underlying international development. Yet convergence claims do not adequately capture change in a world where development inequalities are profound. Between‐country inequalities remain vast, while within‐country inequalities are growing in many cases. Particular attention is given here to exploring the implications of such shifting geographies, and what those mean for the spatial nomenclature and reference of development. This article concludes by arguing for the need, now more than ever, to go beyond international development considered as rich North/poor South, and to move towards a more holistic global development — where the global South remains a key, although not exclusive, focus.     

Making progress in global health: the need for new paradigms

This article takes the state of health in the world today as the starting point for a backward look at the trajectory that has led to our current position and speculation about prospects for improved global health in the future. Our model of social development and its dominant value system, which has promoted scientific progress but has also brought about great social, economic and health instability, is interrogated. This leads to questions such as what it means to be healthy and what the practice of medicine is about. Three potential scenarios for global health in the future are outlined. It is suggested that deep introspection about our current value system is required to achieve a paradigm shift that could reverse current trends and lead both to improvements in health globally and to less human insecurity. The authors conclude that while we have the material resources to achieve ambitious goals we may lack the moral and political will to do so. An expanded discourse on ethics and human rights—as well as on the limits of what is politically possible— may provide the impetus to drive change towards an improved global economic system and better health globally.     

Towards a network of regions: The United States of Europe

Starting from the changing role of governments in planning (physical, environmental, economic, etc.), this paper calls attention to the drastic structural changes taking place in the regional scene after the transition towards market orientation and global competitiveness. The main focus is on European developments. In addition to économie forces, two phenomena will be highlighted, namely, the transition towards a network economy and the profound technological changes taking place at the regional and urban level Particular attention will be devoted to European spatial dynamics in a networked society. Various new geographical configurations and maps of Europe will be shown, followed by some exploratory remarks on future trends. The main message of the paper is that transport planning in Europe needs to be integrated with the emerging new economic networks. The paper ends with some policy conclusions.     

Global health ethics: the rationale for mutual caring

Despite spectacular twentieth century scientific and technological progress, the world is more inequitable than it was fifty years ago. This is evident both in terms of access to health care for individuals, and in relation to the health of whole populations. Disparities in wealth and health within and between nations are widening inexorably and the rapidly expanding global economy has failed to reduce poverty among those with little if any access to health care. In this context the Universal Declaration of Human Rights remains an unrealized aspiration for the majority of the world's people. Given these realities, no single discipline, or body of knowledge is likely to make much difference. For example, approaches based only on neo–liberal economics, as exemplified by the structural adjustment programmes of the World Bank, have not been successful in promoting health equity. The authors believe that an interdisciplinary approach is required, and that bioethics, an interdisciplinary field, can make a contribution towards improving health globally. To do this, the scope of bioethics should be expanded towards a results–oriented global health ethics, based upon widely shared and foundational values that could be carried forward through five transformational approaches.     

Sustaining the energy: a celebration of the life of Judith Ennew

In October 2013 the world lost one of the leading lights of scholarship and advocacy for the human rights of children. Judith Ennew was an intellectual and an activist who shaped the global agenda for research with children, particularly in the Global South, for almost four decades. Judith was also a mentor and friend to many child researchers around the world. Here, we celebrate the incredible life of Judith Ennew as we remember the breadth and depth of her contribution to research and her unfailing commitment to improving the lives of children around the world.     

Is Thabo Mbeki Africa's Saviour?

Foreign relations are the main preoccupation of South African president, Thabo Mbeki. His role perception is dominated by a mission to improve the plight of Africa, and second to that, to act as the Third World's überdiplomat . Under his administration, South Africa's foreign policy has become almost an adjunct of his more holistic diplomatic pursuits. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is the magnum opus of Mbeki's foreign policy, and the success or failure of this grand design for an African renaissance will determine his legacy and make or break his leadership in South Africa and in the rest of Africa. The success of his NEPAD diplomacy is a daunting task, requiring the support of his African peers, his South African constituency, and the leadership of the developed nations of the world. Dealing with these diverse elements, Mbeki's policy-making oscillates between realism and idealism, and between ideology and interests, giving the impression of a style of a prudent bureaucrat rather than that of a single-minded reformer. In the end, his diplomacy seems to founder because it fails to satisfy the contradictory demands of any of these three constituencies. However, even if NEPAD should fail as a project, its role could be that of a harbinger of a new political and economic era in Africa and the movement away from post-colonial orthodoxy.     

Teaching English in South Korea: mobility norms and higher education outcomes in youth migration

In many Western contexts, travel has a long historical association with youth, young adults and coming of age, an association that often connects temporary mobility with the lives of the educated middle classes and elite. Indeed, from the colonial adventure and the ‘grand tour’, to contemporary ideas of the ‘gap year’ or ‘overseas experience’, the mobility of Western youth and young adults is often considered voluntary and based on a desire to explore places and develop positive personal attributes, marking a stark contrast to depictions of migration from the developing world as directly or indirectly forced and driven primarily by economic considerations. This paper questions this depiction of developed world mobility in the context of the changing economic conditions that face young graduates in many Western countries. Drawing on survey and interview data I focus on the profiles and biographies of young adults from English-speaking countries working as foreign language instructors in South Korea. Although the personal narrative of travel and exploration amongst these individuals remains significant, findings from this research also suggest that many of these young graduates are also driven by economic circumstances: unemployment or underemployment and high levels of debt usually associated with tertiary studies. This tension between the opportunities available to young people and the constraints imposed by their own circumstances raises important questions about the multiple layers of social and economic differentiation operating through higher education and international mobility in the lives of young people.     

A sweet and amnesic present: the postcolonial landscape and memory makings in Cape Verde

The construction of memory in landscapes is a complex process which is embedded in webs of political and economic power. Often history is twisted and bended to better serve the current interests of the hegemonic forces at play. In this paper I attempt to explore how memory is at work in three different sites in Santiago Island, Cape Verde: an old fort and a historical town; a concentration camp; and a global resort. The three sites participate in the erasure, maintenance and creation of memory in different ways, forging new forms of collective identity, which are embedded in local as well as global forces and processes. Through an analysis of the changes taking place on these sites, this paper suggests that while the country lives on foreign aid and attempts to embrace neo-liberal practices, it fails not only to provide basic services to the population but to engage critically with its history and geography.     

Mapping science: in memory of John Ziman

Abstract

Science has brought untold benefits to mankind through an increase of knowledge. These are reviewed in astronomy, nuclear physics, in the life sciences and the resulting technological accomplishments are discussed from an American point of view. International cooperation in scientific research, be it big accelerators or large telescopes, has posed great challenges to engineers, but has also highlighted the global problems of population explosion, pollution, tropical diseases and finite resources. All points to the fact that the world is in a state of transition, and this, the main thesis of the review, is exemplified in detail, showing how science and technology has led to social, economic and political problems. To these, solutions are offered.     

Global Governance: Poorly done and Poorly Understood

A set of ethical issues—tensions between democratization and globalization, about some ways in which the global inequalities have increased, and about gross failures of contemporary international cooperation—provide reason to consider our understanding of global governance and the political forces organized to support or transform it. Many scholars agree on the existence of a global polity characterized by the dominance of neo-liberalism, the growing network of both public and private regimes that extend across the world's largest regions, the system of global intergovernmental organizations, and transnational organizations both carrying out some of the traditional service functions of global public agencies and working to create regimes and new systems of international integration. Scholars who emphasize the historically contingent social construction of human institutions and who focus on the transformative potential of transnational social movements have provided the greatest insight into what can be done to confront the ethical issues raised by contemporary global governance. Almost all analysts agree that the current great powers cannot be relied upon to facilitate progressive change, although that is only one reason why global governance is likely to remain inefficient and incapable of shifting resources from the world's rich to the poor, even though it may continue to play a role in promoting liberal democracy and the empowering of women.     

南海主权地缘政治经济透析

南海诸岛自古以来就是中国领土。由于其独特的地理区位及资源战略价值,南海周边国家围绕南海诸岛的领土、领海主权争端愈演愈烈,形成了今天"六国七方"的复杂局面。本文从政治经济地理的角度探讨了南海的地缘战略及资源战略价值,阐述了南海主权争端的由来及现状以及中国对南海主权的法律地位,在此基础上对南海主权争端的实质进行了分析,并得出结论,随着2010年中国与东盟自由贸易区的建立和大湄公河次区域经济合作项目的全面启动,中国与南海沿岸各国的经济合作、政治互信和共同利益越来越多,这将有助于减少外部大国遏制中国的借口,南海问题将会由直接有关的各方共同找到一个大家都能接受的解决办法。     

Hybrid Uptakes of Neoliberal Conservation in Namibian Tourism‐based Development

Neoliberal conservation schemes involving nature‐based tourism are implemented throughout the developing world to address rural poverty. Drawing on socio‐economic surveys and in‐depth interviews, this article uses the case of Uibasen Conservancy in Namibia to investigate social responses to neoliberal conservation. We find that people's aspirations for upward economic and social mobility lead them to participate in neoliberal conservation projects in an attempt to combine economic opportunities created by nature‐based tourism with traditional livelihood strategies. In this case, certain aspects of neoliberal conservation are perceived as a source of hope for non‐elites seeking to achieve economic self‐sufficiency and to ascend social hierarchies. We find that intra‐community power struggles dominate discourses of discontent and local‐level conflict which consequently masks the disruptive and anomic forces of the global tourism industry. We additionally provide insight into specific social contexts that may increase the allure of neoliberal conservation and explain why marginalized individuals may embrace some neoliberal logics despite — or, perhaps, because of — their disruptive tendencies.     

上海、东京城市化进程及动力因子比较研究

本文以中国上海和日本东京为案例地,从人口、经济、土地、社会,城市化内涵的四个方面入手,运用熵值法对上海1985-2012 年和东京1954-2009 年的城市化水平进行综合测度,对比分析二者城市化进程,其次利用主成分回归法对二者城市化进程的驱动因子进行对比分析。结果表明：①上海目前处于城市化继续发展阶段,以城市经济的增长和土地面积的扩张为主要特征;东京目前处于城市化稳定发展阶段,经济的迅速发展和社会服务体系的完善是其城市化的主要体现;②城市化进程动力因子对比显示,上海主要依靠投资、内需及城市土地扩张推动,经济外向力作用相对较弱,而东京城市化动力中经济外向力作用明显。     

'MOVING AROUND': THE SOCIAL AND SPATIAL MOBILITY OF YOUTH IN LUSAKA

Claims have recently been made for a 'mobilities paradigm' which is challenging the relative 'a-mobile' focus of much of the social sciences. The agenda drawn up for this mobilities paradigm is clearly based on Northern trends with little consideration of the South. African populations have always been mobile but little is known about the mobility of urban populations and in particular of the youth, who constitute a large proportion of the population. This paper explores the daily and residential mobility of young people in Lusaka building upon interviews held with low- and middle-income youth. The aim is to contribute to discussions of: how mobility varies by gender and class; the links between spatial mobility and social and economic mobility; the nature of the relationship between patterns of mobility and residential structure; and how examining mobility can illuminate many other aspects of young people's lives. Overall the picture emerging from Lusaka is rather bleak. In a context of spiralling economic decline and rising HIV/AIDS rates, the social mobility of youth is predominantly downwards which is reflected in the residential and daily mobility patterns of the young people. There is a strong link between young people's mobility and their livelihoods, an aspect of mobility that is widespread in the South but largely overlooked by the emerging mobilities paradigm.