Papers by Jo-Ansie van Wyk
Routledge Companion to Global Cyber-Security Strategy, 2021
South African Journal of International Affairs, 2020
South Africa's nomination of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for election as the chairperson of the Africa... more South Africa's nomination of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for election as the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) in 2011 remains controversial. In the absence of scholarship on South Africa's candidature diplomacy and on the Dlamini-Zuma candidature, the article explains the allure for states of leadership in intergovernmental organisations before outlining the South African rationale for, and campaign for, the Dlamini-Zuma candidature, a quest that was successful only after multiple rounds of voting over a six-month period. The article shows South Africa's extensive use of diplomatic lobbying and votetrading as key instruments during the election campaign before outlining how the country's institutional practice and policies were refined, allowing South Africa to achieve its leadership aspirations utilising candidature diplomacy.
South African Journal of International Affairs, 2019
ABSTRACT South Africa’s democratic transition had direct bearing on the country’s participation a... more ABSTRACT South Africa’s democratic transition had direct bearing on the country’s participation and status in the international arena. The transformation of South Africa’s foreign ministry from the period of apartheid to that of Ubuntu signifies one of the unique cases of institutional adaptability in the wake of regime change. To support this claim, the adaptive strategies of South Africa’s foreign ministry (whether under the moniker of the Department of Foreign Affairs or that of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation) since 1990 are analysed by focusing on the various shifts in emphasis (especially, to the African Agenda and the diplomacy of Ubuntu), changes in political and bureaucratic leadership, the ministry’s institutional restructuring and transformation, and new emphases on inter-governmental relations and co-operative governance.
Public Participation in Foreign Policy, 2012
Over the past few decades, accelerating economic and political globalization has increasingly ero... more Over the past few decades, accelerating economic and political globalization has increasingly eroded the dividing line between domestic and foreign policy. Global issues such as climate change, financial crisis and transnational security threats affect the lives of ordinary citizens around the world. Furthermore, with the communications revolution, and the shrinking of time and space as a result, citizens are more aware than ever before about events beyond the borders of their country. These changes raise significant questions about the way that foreign policy is formulated and conducted, and by whom.
edicated to the thousands of students in Africa who, often under difficult conditions, study Inte... more edicated to the thousands of students in Africa who, often under difficult conditions, study International Relations, and commissioned by the Foundation for Global Dialogue, this publication is a collaboration by contributors from a number of South African and United States institutions.
De Arte, 2024
Open access
Art provides a meaningful instrument with which to understand, reflect, and
communic... more Open access
Art provides a meaningful instrument with which to understand, reflect, and
communicate history, humanity, scientific progress, and societal threats.
Nuclear art is a particular and critical art form that deals with the duality of the nuclear chain reaction which is either used for peaceful purposes such as nuclear medicine and food irradiation, or for weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear bombs. Despite South Africa’s long nuclear history and unprecedented voluntary nuclear weapons disarmament, nuclear art as a visual practice is underdeveloped in the country. This article considers German-born South African artist Helmut Starcke’s Study for “Vaalputs Madonna” (2007) as a visual expression of South African nuclear art, and the nuclear necropolitics related to the Vaalputs National Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. Starcke’s use of Marian iconography and his juxtaposition of European and African art symbolises the violence of nuclear colonialism, while he also confirms the realities of the nuclear necropolitics of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.
The Thinker , 2024
Open access at https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/The_Thinker/article/view/3052/1977
The Afri... more Open access at https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/The_Thinker/article/view/3052/1977
The African National Congress (ANC) was established in 1912 and banned by the apartheid government in 1960. Many members of the organisation went into exile, and it continued underground. The organisation became synonymous with the anti-apartheid and liberation struggle in South Africa until its unbanning in 1990. The organisation had early on adopted an anti-nuclear weapons position and its awareness of, and resistance against, the apartheid regime’s secret nuclear weapons program became one of the pillars of its global struggle to end apartheid. This paper traces the early development of the ANC’s position on nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, before discussing its international anti-nuclear initiatives, including its armed struggle and attack against the Koeberg nuclear power plant close to Cape Town, during its construction.
Scientiae MIlitaria, 2024
New article
Authors: Sky L Mkuti, Jo-Ansie van Wyk and Oluwaseun Tella
Abstract
On 11 Septe... more New article
Authors: Sky L Mkuti, Jo-Ansie van Wyk and Oluwaseun Tella
Abstract
On 11 September 2001, the world witnessed a drastic change in the global security landscape that influenced the dynamics of United States counterterrorism. The United States expanded its global alliances, including its financial assistance and cooperation scope, in East Africa as well. A fundamental transformation in the United States Defence Foreign Policy towards Africa was marked by a growing reliance by the United States on African partners, such as Kenya. Despite visible power disparities between the United States and Kenyan asymmetric relations, the two states set an unmatched counterterrorism partnership in East Africa – even with the growing criticism of the United States militarisation in some parts of Africa, such as in the Sahel region, which remains prone to coups despite enduring counterterrorism interventions by the United States. What is particularly interesting is how the asymmetric relations between the United States and Kenya enhanced a stable and multidimensional implementation of counterterrorism in East Africa. The dynamics of these asymmetric relations on counterterrorism demystify the perception that asymmetric relations between powerful and weak states are inherently unstable. Employing secondary data, the study on which this article reports, sought to deconstruct such rhetoric by conceptualising asymmetry whilst identifying five main conceptualisations of asymmetry theory that characterises the asymmetric relations between the United States and Kenya. Thereafter, by taking stock of the multidimensional efforts by the United States and Kenya, it is argued that triangular asymmetries a
South African Journal of International Affairs, 2018
This contribution concerns itself with two diplomatic instruments, namely summitry, or summit dip... more This contribution concerns itself with two diplomatic instruments, namely summitry, or summit diplomacy, and sanctions or, in EU terminology, 'restrictive measures', in the context of EU-Africa relations. Successive EU-Africa summits have been criticised for the attendance of African leaders such as Omar al Bashir (Sudan) and Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe). Despite criticism against the EU for inviting and hosting some of Africa's most notorious (ie corrupt or human rights-abusing) leaders, the EU seems to have taken a pragmatic approach to the matter by including, rather than sanctioning and excluding, these leaders from EU-Africa summits. The article attempts to determine why this has occurred, and the consequences and implications thereof. The case of Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe (1981-2017), is presented as an illustrative case demonstrating the role of sanctions as a diplomatic instrument in relation to summitry.
South African Journal of International Affairs, 2016
ABSTRACTThe proponents of international nuclear fuel banks maintain that these banks will contrib... more ABSTRACTThe proponents of international nuclear fuel banks maintain that these banks will contribute to nuclear non-proliferation, whereas those opposing it maintain that nuclear weapon states support these banks in order to control and multilateralise the nuclear fuel cycle, thus preventing developing states from developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Global inequalities pertaining to nuclear energy continue to persist despite developing states’ efforts to reform the international nuclear energy regime. Moreover, some developing states maintain that these nuclear fuel banks perpetuate inequality in international relations. This is one of the reasons why some leading developing states, such as Brazil and South Africa, oppose these banks. South Africa, for example, intends to re-establish its nuclear fuel cycle and has declared uranium a strategic resource. Against the aforesaid, this article, following a constructivist approach, analyses the emergence and social construction of nuclear fuel bank...
Strategic Review For Southern Africa, May 1, 2012
ABSTRACT As a former illicit importer and exporter of nuclear-related equipment, South Africa rem... more ABSTRACT As a former illicit importer and exporter of nuclear-related equipment, South Africa remains determined to project itself as a rehabilitated nuclear state. To achieve this, the country participates in various nuclear export control regimes. However, the South African government's efforts were undermined by a series of nuclear proliferation-related incidents, most notably the involvement of South Africans in the A Q Khan network. This article analyses South Africa's identity, roles and interests vis-a-vis the nuclear export control regime and concludes with an assessment of South Africa's nuclear diplomatic instruments and achievements in the nuclear export control regime. 1. INTRODUCTION In March 1993, President F W de Klerk announced to the South African Parliament that the termination of the country's nuclear weapons programme commenced in September 1989; shortly after he had taken office (De Klerk, 1993). Internationally, South Africa's nuclear volte face was lauded, but some concerns remained, which were only fully addressed once the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified the complete dismantlement of South Africa's nuclear weapons programme in 1993. A few months into the African National Congress (ANC) led Government of National Unity (GNU), the South African Cabinet reiterated the country's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and accepted, on 31 August 1994, a proposal by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfred Nzo, that South Africa should actively participate in nuclear non-proliferation regimes and suppliers groups; publicly adopt positions on nuclear non-proliferation and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in order to promote international peace and security; and use its position in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and nuclear suppliers groups to ensure that nuclear-related export controls do not deny developing states access to advanced technology (Markram, 2004: 12). South Africa also adopted a strong position on the nuclear non-proliferation export control regime. In an effort to allay fears of a South African nuclear roll-back whilst maintaining its nuclear sovereignty, the South African government admitted that 'a primary goal' of its foreign policy is to "reinforce and promote South Africa as a responsible producer, possessor and trader of defence-related products and advanced technologies in the nuclear, biological, chemical and missile fields" to "promote the benefits of non-proliferation" in Africa and the NAM (DFA, 2009). The nuclear legacy of South Africa's erstwhile nuclear weapons programme meant that the country could maintain and advance certain aspects of its nuclear programme to, inter alia, export to international clients; thus earning much-needed foreign currency. Despite its history of by-passing severe United Nations (UN) sanctions relating to its nuclear industry (UN, 1994), South Africa has constructed a new state identity as a state compliant with the major nuclear nonproliferation norms, including those pertaining to the international nuclear trade. South Africa constructed this identity by practicing a unique brand of niche diplomacy by employing typical niche diplomatic strategies, namely confrontation, parallelism and partnership (Henrikson, 2005: 70-71; 74). Therefore, this contribution outlines the nuclear non-proliferation export control regime before it proceeds to focus on South Africa's compliance with the regime by implementing, in a Krasnerian sense, 'principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures' domestic ally to comply with these regimes (Krasner, 2009: 113). The article also focuses on South Africa's construction of its compliance with and socialisation of norms related to the global 'nuclear bazaar', here referring to the international nuclear non-proliferation export regime. By joining nuclear export control regimes to reiterate the country's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, and communicating the country's national interests as complementing (and not opposing) international nuclear non-proliferation norms, South Africa portrayed its newly constructed identity as a unique state, which abandoned its nuclear weapons programme but also as a state which continues to comply with these norms. …
Public Participation in Foreign Policy
South African Historical Journal, 2013
Beginning soon after the new dispensation, and continuing for over a decade, the South African In... more Beginning soon after the new dispensation, and continuing for over a decade, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) produced an impressive annual Yearbook of International Aff...
Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development, 2018
UN and UNSC reforms have been on the agenda for some time. Africa's common position on UN reform,... more UN and UNSC reforms have been on the agenda for some time. Africa's common position on UN reform, the Ezulwini Consensus, is one of the plethora of proposals in this regard. South Africa and Nigeria are two of the strongest African contenders for a permanent seat on the UNSC. These ambitions cause some diplomatic friction on the continent and, in particular, between South Africa and Nigeria. It is against this background that this contribution assesses the need and case for Africa's permanent representation in the UNSC. This chapter explores and assesses African proposals with regard to representation in the UNSC, with particular reference to South Africa and Nigeria's eligibility in terms of the criteria formulated by UN Panels and other high-level reports. The authors also analyse the prominence of African states in the UNSC vis-à-vis their possible inclusion in the UNSC as permanent members.
This article interrogates the undercurrents of small states foreign policy and the determinants o... more This article interrogates the undercurrents of small states foreign policy and the determinants of foreign policy making in small states. It question small states are positioned in the web of international relations with other player, such as large states. The research is guided by the assumption that small states are somewhat limited by domestic and external factor, which are the driving catalysts of international relations agendas. The analysis aims to determine how the smallness of a state can be a challenge, and how small states can survive the limitations of their smallness. The article makes use of Liberalism/NeoLiberalism theories of International Relations (IR) Studies.
Politeia, 2016
Political leadership in Africa is changing. Evidence of this can be found in the Arab Spring, dem... more Political leadership in Africa is changing. Evidence of this can be found in the Arab Spring, democratic elections on the continent and the rejection by the African Union (AU) of undemocratic and unconstitutional regime change on the continent. However, procedural rather than substantive democracies operate on the continent, often entrenching authoritarian regimes through elections. These elections show some signs of democratisation and democratic participation, but result predominantly in the extension of the competitive authoritarian regime.The AU subscribes to universally accepted democratic norms, which are often not realised in member states, or sanctioned by the AU. This tacit approval of electoral authoritarianism requires an investigation into the role, if any, of the AU in entrenching electoral authoritarianism on the continent. Applying Levitsky and Way’s (2002; 2010) analytical framework leads to the conclusion that the AU has exerted leverage over authoritarian preside...
Since the verifi cation of the termination of its nuclear weapons programme and the dismantling o... more Since the verifi cation of the termination of its nuclear weapons programme and the dismantling of its nuclear devices and facilities, South Africa has succeeded in converting its defensive nuclear posture to the employment of nuclear energy for peaceful uses, such as power generation and nuclear medicine. In respect of the latter, South Africa has skilfully crafted a global niche for itself. Building on its nuclear expertise, South Africa has become one of the world's leading producers of medical isotopes-an under-researched area in South Africa's nuclear and economic diplomacy-which are used in a variety of medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Moreover, South Africa has succeeded in producing these isotopes from low-enriched, rather than highly enriched uranium; adding further credence to its nuclear non-proliferation commitments. By converting its nuclear reactor, SAFARI-1, to produce and supply medical isotopes, South Africa has gained numerous material and non-material gains, ranging from foreign exchange to status and prestige.
South African Historical Journal, 2015
Abstract South Africa is recognised for the termination of its nuclear weapons programme at the e... more Abstract South Africa is recognised for the termination of its nuclear weapons programme at the end of the 1980s. Despite global diplomatic efforts and sanctions, it took South Africa 21 years to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). During this period, global opposition to its apartheid policies resulted in embargoes and sanctions, which served as catalysts for the country becoming a recognised nuclear proliferator and sanctions buster. Driven by domestic and regional threat perceptions, South Africa produced six nuclear devices as a deterrent strategy. It was only by 1987 that South Africa for the first time indicated its intention to accede to the NPT. Therefore, this contribution describes South Africa's position on and involvement in the multilateral negotiations leading to the NPT's agreed text, and South Africa's perspective on the nascent non-proliferation agreement. In order to achieve this, the contribution is chronologically limited to the period 1959 until 1991. The domestic and international motives, intentions and incentives that shaped South Africa's refused participation in the new regime until its ratification of the NPT in 1991, are analysed.
South African Journal of International Affairs, 2014
South Africa's status and prestige as a country that successfully and unilaterally disarmed its w... more South Africa's status and prestige as a country that successfully and unilaterally disarmed its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme enabled it to engage with the Saddam government of Iraq in the months leading up to the US-led invasion of March 2003. Following intense international diplomatic efforts, Saddam Hussein had agreed to allow UN and International Atomic Energy Agency weapons inspectors to enter Iraq in November 2002. Acting outside the UN Security Council, the US and its coalition partners maintained that Iraq continued to maintain and produce WMD, a claim refuted by weapons inspectors, including a South African disarmament team that visited Iraq in February 2003. Employing three diplomatic strategies associated with niche diplomacy, South Africa contributed to attempts to avert the invasion by assisting with the orderly disarmament of Saddam-led Iraq and by practising multilateralism. These strategies, notwithstanding the US-led invasion signalling a failure of South Africa's niche diplomacy in this instance, provide valuable insight into the nuclear diplomacy of South Africa.
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Papers by Jo-Ansie van Wyk
Art provides a meaningful instrument with which to understand, reflect, and
communicate history, humanity, scientific progress, and societal threats.
Nuclear art is a particular and critical art form that deals with the duality of the nuclear chain reaction which is either used for peaceful purposes such as nuclear medicine and food irradiation, or for weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear bombs. Despite South Africa’s long nuclear history and unprecedented voluntary nuclear weapons disarmament, nuclear art as a visual practice is underdeveloped in the country. This article considers German-born South African artist Helmut Starcke’s Study for “Vaalputs Madonna” (2007) as a visual expression of South African nuclear art, and the nuclear necropolitics related to the Vaalputs National Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. Starcke’s use of Marian iconography and his juxtaposition of European and African art symbolises the violence of nuclear colonialism, while he also confirms the realities of the nuclear necropolitics of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.
The African National Congress (ANC) was established in 1912 and banned by the apartheid government in 1960. Many members of the organisation went into exile, and it continued underground. The organisation became synonymous with the anti-apartheid and liberation struggle in South Africa until its unbanning in 1990. The organisation had early on adopted an anti-nuclear weapons position and its awareness of, and resistance against, the apartheid regime’s secret nuclear weapons program became one of the pillars of its global struggle to end apartheid. This paper traces the early development of the ANC’s position on nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, before discussing its international anti-nuclear initiatives, including its armed struggle and attack against the Koeberg nuclear power plant close to Cape Town, during its construction.
Authors: Sky L Mkuti, Jo-Ansie van Wyk and Oluwaseun Tella
Abstract
On 11 September 2001, the world witnessed a drastic change in the global security landscape that influenced the dynamics of United States counterterrorism. The United States expanded its global alliances, including its financial assistance and cooperation scope, in East Africa as well. A fundamental transformation in the United States Defence Foreign Policy towards Africa was marked by a growing reliance by the United States on African partners, such as Kenya. Despite visible power disparities between the United States and Kenyan asymmetric relations, the two states set an unmatched counterterrorism partnership in East Africa – even with the growing criticism of the United States militarisation in some parts of Africa, such as in the Sahel region, which remains prone to coups despite enduring counterterrorism interventions by the United States. What is particularly interesting is how the asymmetric relations between the United States and Kenya enhanced a stable and multidimensional implementation of counterterrorism in East Africa. The dynamics of these asymmetric relations on counterterrorism demystify the perception that asymmetric relations between powerful and weak states are inherently unstable. Employing secondary data, the study on which this article reports, sought to deconstruct such rhetoric by conceptualising asymmetry whilst identifying five main conceptualisations of asymmetry theory that characterises the asymmetric relations between the United States and Kenya. Thereafter, by taking stock of the multidimensional efforts by the United States and Kenya, it is argued that triangular asymmetries a
Art provides a meaningful instrument with which to understand, reflect, and
communicate history, humanity, scientific progress, and societal threats.
Nuclear art is a particular and critical art form that deals with the duality of the nuclear chain reaction which is either used for peaceful purposes such as nuclear medicine and food irradiation, or for weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear bombs. Despite South Africa’s long nuclear history and unprecedented voluntary nuclear weapons disarmament, nuclear art as a visual practice is underdeveloped in the country. This article considers German-born South African artist Helmut Starcke’s Study for “Vaalputs Madonna” (2007) as a visual expression of South African nuclear art, and the nuclear necropolitics related to the Vaalputs National Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. Starcke’s use of Marian iconography and his juxtaposition of European and African art symbolises the violence of nuclear colonialism, while he also confirms the realities of the nuclear necropolitics of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.
The African National Congress (ANC) was established in 1912 and banned by the apartheid government in 1960. Many members of the organisation went into exile, and it continued underground. The organisation became synonymous with the anti-apartheid and liberation struggle in South Africa until its unbanning in 1990. The organisation had early on adopted an anti-nuclear weapons position and its awareness of, and resistance against, the apartheid regime’s secret nuclear weapons program became one of the pillars of its global struggle to end apartheid. This paper traces the early development of the ANC’s position on nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, before discussing its international anti-nuclear initiatives, including its armed struggle and attack against the Koeberg nuclear power plant close to Cape Town, during its construction.
Authors: Sky L Mkuti, Jo-Ansie van Wyk and Oluwaseun Tella
Abstract
On 11 September 2001, the world witnessed a drastic change in the global security landscape that influenced the dynamics of United States counterterrorism. The United States expanded its global alliances, including its financial assistance and cooperation scope, in East Africa as well. A fundamental transformation in the United States Defence Foreign Policy towards Africa was marked by a growing reliance by the United States on African partners, such as Kenya. Despite visible power disparities between the United States and Kenyan asymmetric relations, the two states set an unmatched counterterrorism partnership in East Africa – even with the growing criticism of the United States militarisation in some parts of Africa, such as in the Sahel region, which remains prone to coups despite enduring counterterrorism interventions by the United States. What is particularly interesting is how the asymmetric relations between the United States and Kenya enhanced a stable and multidimensional implementation of counterterrorism in East Africa. The dynamics of these asymmetric relations on counterterrorism demystify the perception that asymmetric relations between powerful and weak states are inherently unstable. Employing secondary data, the study on which this article reports, sought to deconstruct such rhetoric by conceptualising asymmetry whilst identifying five main conceptualisations of asymmetry theory that characterises the asymmetric relations between the United States and Kenya. Thereafter, by taking stock of the multidimensional efforts by the United States and Kenya, it is argued that triangular asymmetries a
Africa’s unique position as an international diplomatic actor has not always been given the attention it deserves. This volume bridges this gap by offering a fresh, comprehensive and realistic overview of African diplomacy.
The book examines African diplomatic practice. Chapters explore how different types of diplomacy have developed over time, including energy diplomacy, economic diplomacy and quiet diplomacy. Crucially, the book assesses how certain events have allowed Africa to use certain types of diplomacy to yield better outcomes for itself.
Including contributions from an international team of scholars, policy makers and experts from the diplomatic world, the book provides a comprehensive guide to African diplomacy and challenges the current dominant usage of Northern perspectives on diplomacy studies.
Free download at https://muse.jhu.edu/book/21665.
Available until June 2020.
Lesley Masters, Siphamandla Zondi, Jo-Ansie van Wyk and Chris Landsberg (Eds.) South African foreign policy review. Volume 2. African Institute of South Africa (AISA): Pretoria. 2015. [ISBN 978-0-7983-0439-9]
20 September -13 December 2024 (13 weeks)
This is the second issue, published on 17 November 2024.
Monitoring South Africa’s nuclear landscape
Issue 1, 11 November 2024
Compiled by Prof Jo-Ansie van Wyk, Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
1. Marine Studies
2. Aviation and Aeronautical studies
3. Automotive
4. Energy
5. Space study and Square Kilometer Area
6. Fourth Industrial revolution and Digitalisation
7. Natural Sciences (Biotechnological studies)
8. Health Studies/Medicine
9. Feminist, Womanist, Bosadi Theorizations
10. Student Support and Co-Curricular activities
The call has been issued by the College of Human Sciences of the University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
For more information on the call and the application form, please contact me via my www.academia.edu website.
‘Jan Christiaan Smuts: the formative years’
Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS)
12-14 September 2024
Ramaphosa and a new dawn for South African foreign policy
Edited by Lesley Masters, Jo-Ansie van Wyk and Philani Mthembu
Open access: https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/south-african-foreign-policy-review-volume-4
The seminar will be presented by Research Professor Jo-Ansie van Wyk on Friday 20 October 2023 at 10:00 am SAST.
The following link can be used to join the engagement: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ODYwZGZjZWUtN2YxNS00YmY5LWI5MTEtM2JiMmJiZmQ0M2Rh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22ca9a8b8c-3ea3-4799-a43e-5510398e7a3b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%223653b26f-7b49-4112-b214-13b7b788fc3a%22%7d
Time: 10:00-12:00 SAST
Meeting ID: 366 098 887 589Passcode: kXbiJ9
MS Teams
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NTAwMGNmMDMtZTMxZC00N2Q4LTlkZWUtMjBmMmI3ZTEzNWYw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22ca9a8b8c-3ea3-4799-a43e-5510398e7a3b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%221e8c7d02-f2d4-4d4a-97a3-ee12e3880af3%22%7d
Links for 3 April 2023 (Day 1) and 4 April 2023 (Day 2) included below.
Time: 13:00-15:00 SAST
The Higher Education Activation Lab (HEAL)-where ideas are raised and "now what?" is answered. The focus of the Higher Education Activation Lab is to explore where we are and, importantly, what we should now be doing to step forward. The focus is on activating change, shifting from discourse to doing, from idea to implementation. As such, the fundamental question we seek to answer is, "Now what?"
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s notion of a New Dawn as the clarion call for his presidency is yet to manifest fully in South Africa’s foreign policy. However, some changes are already indicating a departure from the Zuma era’s foreign policy. Ramaphosa’s emphasis on foreign direct investment and trade seems to be the cornerstone of his tenure’s foreign policy. Besides this, some other developments and continuities require deeper reflection; one of the objectives of the fourth volume of the highly successful South African Foreign Policy Review series. Broadly a reflection and assessment of the Ramaphosa era, the volume intends to focus on foreign policy leadership, foreign policy architecture, diplomacy, questions such as national interests and national identity, and South Africa’s bi- and multilateral relations. Contributors to volume 4 include South African and international experts, and will, like previous volumes, be of great use to diplomats, academics, students, government officials, parliamentarians, politicians, the media, and civil society.
Volume 4, continues to build on the analysis of South Africa’s conduct internationally. The Review fills a gap in the continuity of analysis on South African Foreign policy, providing an important resource in tracing trends and developments. If the country is to maintain and grow its role in the region and international affairs more broadly, the public, scholars, and practitioners need to be able to take stock of how the country has conducted itself internationally so far, and how it could improve on a number of fronts including areas such as regional leadership, balancing principles and practice, and supporting diplomatic practice.
The fourth volume of the South African Foreign Policy Review, edited by Lesley Masters, Jo Ansie van Wyk, and Philani Mthembu, includes 18 chapters. In reviewing the conduct of South African foreign policy, the analysis focuses on key themes in South Africa’s foreign policy, with a particular focus on the Ramaphosa administration and the idea of a ‘New Dawn’.
The book provides consideration of the norms and values, architecture, and practice of foreign policy through exploring conceptual frameworks and reviewing diplomacy in practice.
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24 January 2023
7 October 2021
Kruger National Park, South Africa, 13-16 October 2021.
ABSTRACT
Medical progress depends on rigorous scientific and ethical practices. Besides war, as the most extreme form of political contestation, the outbreak of a pandemic is often a hyper accelerator and catalyst for the wealth and health of nations. Pandemics require an urgent, innovative and sustainable scientific response. However, pandemics and responses thereto also play out on a battlefield of bodies and ideas; resulting, as we are witnessing, in resistance to science. Whereas medical professionals are bound by Hippocratic ethics and stringent legal codes, society (virtual and physical) seemingly runs amok with much less accountability. Fake news has pushed global society beyond the boundaries of half-truths, propaganda and lies. In fact, we have seemingly entered a post-truth world oscillating between political and market interests, and science. This has resulted in the pandemic’s very first and, in all likelihood, its last casualty: truth. As much as social media may have changed certain aspects of our lives for the better, it has also proved to be a political pathogen obstructing, resisting and discrediting medical progress since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In some instances, it has, in fact, become anti-social; a Frankenmedia trading in Frankenfacts, and an instance of social arrythmia. This presentation aims to take a journey on the politics of truth in the context of social media, the politics of the pandemic and medical progress, and the politics of politics, and its implications for the quest for medical progress for the common good.
Kruger National Park, South Africa, 13-16 October 2021
https://sastm.glueup.com/event/pan-african-travel-medicine-congress-kruger-national-park-2021-14199/
ABSTRACT
Medical progress depends on rigorous scientific and ethical practices. Besides war, as the most extreme form of political contestation, the outbreak of a pandemic is often a hyper accelerator and catalyst for the wealth and health of nations. Pandemics require an urgent, innovative and sustainable scientific response. However, pandemics and responses thereto also play out on a battlefield of bodies and ideas; resulting, as we are witnessing, in resistance to science. Whereas medical professionals are bound by Hippocratic ethics and stringent legal codes, society (virtual and physical) seemingly runs amok with much less accountability. Fake news has pushed global society beyond the boundaries of half-truths, propaganda and lies. In fact, we have seemingly entered a post-truth world oscillating between political and market interests, and science. This has resulted in the pandemic's very first and, in all likelihood, its last casualty: truth. As much as social media may have changed certain aspects of our lives for the better, it has also proved to be a political pathogen obstructing, resisting and discrediting medical progress since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In some instances, it has, in fact, become antisocial; a Frankenmedia trading in Frankenfacts, and an instance of social arrythmia. This presentation aims to take a journey on the politics of truth in the context of social media, the politics of the pandemic and medical progress, and the politics of politics, and its implications for the quest for medical progress for the common good.
Panel: New Directions in International Relations
Virtual conference, 26-28 August 2021
www.saaps.org.za
ABSTRACT
A 'pathological turn' may be emerging in the study of IR. For the purposes of this paper, it is defined as the interest in and study of the pathology that underlies the behaviour of states and nonstate actors. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to conduct a conceptual analysis of pathology before analysing selected examples of the manifesting and possible emerging pathology of selected actors.
18 November 2020
via Zoom
Addresses South Africa's election campaigns to get elected to the leadership position in multilateral organisations using two case studies: Abdul Minty's bid to lead the IAEA (2009) and the election of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (2012).
The purpose of the paper/presentation is four-fold. First, it will attempt to focus on political issues that cause and result from health issues on the continent. Examples of this include health disasters caused by war, conflict and the displacement of vulnerable people. The second purpose is to focus on the complexities of providing and accessing health services in particularly traditional societies in rural less developed areas. Although several studies on, particularly HIV and AIDS attest this these complexities, the paper/presentation will use other examples such as the provision of humanitarian medical aid, and cultural sensitivities vis-à-vis, for example, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, organ transplant and blood transfusion. The third objective is to review the use of medical technology on the continent and its impact on treatment in traditional rural societies. Finally, the paper/presentation will attempt to provide some suggestions for the future link between tradition, and medical technology and treatment in Africa.
4 October 2017
More information is available at https://ujonlinepress.uj.ac.za/index.php/ujp/catalog/series/APS_IR
My presentation was titled 'The Indian Ocean, UNCLOS and Competing Continental Shelf Claims'.
Abstract
The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf was established to facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea vis-à-vis the outer limits of the continental shelf. Several Indian Ocean littoral states have made submissions to the Commission. Hence, the purpose of the paper is to revisit these submissions, their progress and the implications of their outcomes for IORA. Besides this, the paper will attempt to offer recommendations to IORA and members states to resolve outstanding claims.
I traced the tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt regarding the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and the UN Security Council debate on the matter towards the end of June 2020. I also focused on the role of the African Union to resolve the matter.
Beeld (Johannesburg), South Africa
23 June 2020
Published in Afrikaans on Saturday, 27 March 2020.
https://saiia.org.za/research/nuclear-non-proliferation-treaty-50-years-on-where-does-africa-stand/
Published online as 'Pessiektes is mens se konstante reisgenoot'.
https://vryeweekblad.com/nuus-en-politiek/2020-02-14-die-skerp-horing-teen-cyril-se-keel
Vrye Weekblad, 14 Februarie 2020
https://www.vryeweekblad.com/menings-en-debat/2020-02-06-sa-het-aanbeweeg-maar-die-anc-is-steeds-in-die-koue-oorlog-gekluister/ or
https://www.vryeweekblad.com/.
I reflect on South Africa's three decades since the release from prison of Nelson Mandela.
Please refer to attachment.
Edited by Peter Wallensteen and Armend Bekaj.
Details available at: https://www.routledge.com/Sanctions-for-Nuclear-Disarmament-and-Non-Proliferation-Moving-Forward/Bekjaj-Wallensteen/p/book/9781032684215
Forthcoming 2022
Forthcoming 1 November 2020.
Examines the relations between Nigeria and South Africa and their implications for regional influence across the African continent
Provides a holistic approach to the relations between Nigeria and South Africa
Analyzes the attempts by both nations to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
Details the importance of strong Nigeria-South Africa relations in terms of economic stability and peace on the African continent
Includes comparative analyses on Asia, Pacific, South America and Africa (e.g. South Africa and Egypt).
Takes a multi-disciplinary approach accessible to security practitioners, policy thinkers, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists.
Details of the book appear below.
The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability (2018)
Case Studies and Practical Solutions.
Editors: Brinkmann, Robert, Garren, Sandra (Eds.)
This publication resulted from, inter alia, the Interdisciplinary Conference on Demodernisation: Perspectives and Approaches, organized by the editors. 29 February – 1 March 2016. University of Nice, Nice, France.
‘Koors’, in Willem Esterhuyzen, Deur die driffies. Dagbreek Uitgewers: Pretoria. 2017. pp. 209-212.
Table of Contents
1. Sustainability Definitions, Historical Context and Frameworks; Sandra Garren and Robert Brinkmann
1: Environment
2. Sustainability and Natural Landscape Stewardship: A United States Conservation Case Study; Johanna Kavorik
3. Policy Design for Sustainability at Multiple Scales: The Case of Transboundary Haze Pollution in Southeast Asia; Ishani Mukherjee
4. Sustainable Water Resources Management: Groundwater Depletion; Brian F. Thomas and Aimee C. Gibbons
5. America's Path to Drinking Water Infrastructure Inequality and Environmental Injustice: The Case of Flint, Michigan; Adrienne L. Katner et al.
6. Sustainable Renewable Energy: The Case of Burlington, Vermont; Sandra Garren
7. Greenhouse Gas Management: A Case Study of a Typical American City; Rachel M. Krause and J.C. Martel
8. Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China: An Unsustainable Situation in Search of a Solution; Haakon Vennemo and Kristin Aunan
9. Waste Management Outlook for the Middle East; Salman Zafar
10. The Sustainability of Vicuña Conservation in Bolivia; Melissa Grigione et al.
11. The Efficacy of Small Closures: A Tale of Two Marine Protected Areas in Canada; Ryan Stanley et al.
Section 2: Equity
12. Urban Social Sustainability: The Case Study of Nottingham, United Kingdom; Jenni Cauvain
13. Methods for Integrated Sustainability Assessment: The Case of Small Holder Farming in Karnataka, South India; Sheetal Patil and Seema Purushothaman
14. Japanese Women and Antinuclear Activism After the Fukushima Accident; Heidi Hutner
15. Emerging Social Movements for Sustainability: Understanding and Scaling Up Upcycling in the United Kingdom; Kyungeun Sung, Tim Cooper, and Sarah Kettley
16. Urban Vulnerability of Waste Workers in Nigerian Cities: The Case of Aba, Nigeria; Thaddeus Chidi Nzeadibe and Friday Uchenna Ochege
17. Designing Personal Sustainability into Organizational Culture: The Case of Burning Man; Morgan C. Benton and Nicole Radziwill
18. Political Leadership and Sustainability in Africa: Margaret Kenyatta; Jo-Ansie van Wyk
19. Environmental Law; Yumiko Nakanishi
20. Brownfields Redevelopment: Recycling the Urban Environment; Elizabeth Strom 21. Methodology for Selection of Sustainability Criteria: A Case Study of Social Housing in Peru; Daniel R. Rondinel Oviedo and Christopher Scheier Barreto
22. Small-Scale, Sustainable Agriculture in Broward, Florida; Thelma I. Velez
Section 3: Economy
23. Economic Development and Sustainability: A Case Study from Long Island, New York; Robert Brinkmann
24. Sustainable Business; Deborah Gallagher
25. Contributing to Competitiveness in Retailing by Engaging in Sustainability: The Case of Migros; Thomas Rudolph et al.
26. Environmental Purchasing in the City of Phoenix; Nicole Darnall et al.
27. The Dual Promise of Green Jobs: Sustainability and Economic Equity; Ellen Scully-Russ
28. Is Ecotourism Sustainable? A Case Study from Sri Lanka; Rathnayake Mudiyanselage Wasantha Rathnayake
29. Green Building and Sustainability: Diffusing Green Building Approaches in the United Kingdom and Germany; Kirstie O'Neill and David Gibbs
30. Green Universities: The Example of Western Kentucky University; Leslie North and Christian N. Ryan
31. Events, Festivals and Sustainability: The Woodford Folk Festival, Australia; Kirsten Holmes and Judith Mair
32. We'd Like Our Clothes Back Please! Partnering with Consumers to Achieve Sustainability Goals; Diane M. Phillips and Jason Keith Phillips
33. Green IT: Hofstra University's Information Technology Upgrades Created Unplanned Sustainable Green Benefits by Increasing Efficiency and Reducing Costs; Margaret Linehan and Catherine Fisher
Section 4: Regional and Local Examples
34. Sustainability in North America: The Canadian Experience; Mark Roseland and Maria Spiliotopoulou
35. African Sustainability and Global Governance; Timothy M. Shaw etc.
Now available online on Taylor & Francis Online.
SARChi Chair in Gender Politics
8-10 August 2017
STIAS – Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Paper on African First Ladies, Politics and the State.
The AFLD project is led by Prof Jo-Ansie van Wyk of the Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa (Unisa), Pretoria, South Africa. Prof van Wyk's co-researchers are Ms Arina Muresan (Institute for Dialogue, Unisa) and Mr Chidochashe Nyere (Department of Political Science, University of Pretoria).
For more information, contact Prof Jo-Ansie van Wyk at vwykjak@unisa.ac.za.
influential political force in the inner circle of presidents and politics. Recent examples of the
growing political influence of First Ladies of Southern Africa include Graça Machel and Grace
Mugabe. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the political role, influence and
activities of First Ladies in Southern Africa and in particular to contribute to this underresearched
area related to political leadership in Africa. From peace missions to summits,
First Ladies play a leadership role in the sustainable development and politics of the subregion.
In some instances, however, First Ladies have contributed to the undermining of
accountable leadership on the continent. For analytical purposes, the paper addresses the
political agenda, role, influence and accountability of selected First Ladies in Southern Africa.
July 2017.
Africa’s sustainability and human development largely depends on the continent’s natural resources.
However, the beginning of the 21st century saw an escalation of wildlife crimes in Africa. Since its independence, Kenya has been at the forefront of the environmental agenda on the continent, with Kenya’s Richard Leakey, founder of WildlifeDirect, and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai of the Green Belt Movement, amongst others, recognised for this.
For more, please go to http://www.polity.org.za/article/new-leadership-for-a-new-african-future-margaret-kenyatta-kenyas-first-lady-2017-07-05
Presented to the Institute for Futures Research (IFR) & Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA), Stellenbosch University, webinar on Influencing Military Futures
30 November 2021
Introducing Military Futures 14.0 etc.
President Cyril Ramaphosa (since 2018) and his Cabinet’s Commissions, Compacts, Councils, Forces, Funds, Initiatives, Programmes, Summits, Task Teams, Plans, Policies, Rooms etc.
For more on Climax windmills, see https://pumps4africa.co.za/climax-windmills/
Nowhere is the life-death-life cycle more pertinent than in Nature – where our presence and actions are sometimes signaled as red flags.
These pictures were taken in December 2006 and January 2007 on my family’s farms Achtertuin and Koets near Kamieskroon, South Africa. A first exploration of “sculpting the land”, all these images, except the red flag installation, were created by natural materials. The land, riverbeds and rocks became my canvass, and peacock feathers, dry thorn tree branches, abandoned finch nests and rocks became my brush. The intention was to create images and leave it exactly where it was found and created to whither away as times goes by, and the life-death-life- cycle continues uninterrupted.
Read my short short story, Kollkte (Offering), at www.litnet.co.za/kollekte.
Copyright details: © Jo-Ansie van Wyk 2024
The Bomb. A drama about South Africa's nuclear disarmament.
On the eve of the end of the Cold War and apartheid, the President of a pariah state decided to dismantle his country's nuclear weapons programme. However, his marriage is also in the process of dismantling.