The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil: What hosting mega-events mean for emerging middle powers
Since China hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympics there has been a marked increase in the active bidding and subsequent hosting of global mega-events by countries considered ‘rising’ in international affairs. In 2010 the Commonwealth Games was hosted in India, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the World Expo in China.
Emerging Insights into Governance and Sustainable Management of Africa’s Natural Ecosystems
Developing countries need to grow their economies to meet the needs of their people, while ensuring that the productivity and viability of the underlying ecosystems are maintained at healthy levels.
Revamping Artisanal Gold Mining in Zimbabwe to Catalyse Poverty Reduction
This briefing discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by the artisanal gold mining sector in Zimbabwe. It reflects on the measures needed to promote artisanal miners’ contribution to sustainable development, economic growth and poverty alleviation.
South Africa’s Economic Statecraft in Southern Africa: Non-existent or Nascent? An Examination of Relations with Zimbabwe and Swaziland
The ‘new’ South Africa that has emerged since the country’s first democratic elections, held the year after this acceptance speech, has fallen somewhat short of these expectations for the ‘rainbow nation’.
Nationalism with Chinese Characteristics: How Does it Affect the Competitiveness of South Africa’s Mining Industry?
Between 2001 and 2008, the longest sustained commodity boom in recent history, South Africa’s mining industry contracted at roughly 1% a year.
Kenya Gears Up for Second Peer Review … Again
Despite the shadow cast by the charges against President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court, Kenya has been quietly going about compiling its second Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR) under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
Platinum & Passes: The Impact of Mining Investments on Education Outcomes in South Africa
Platinum mining is a major engine of South Africa’s economy, producing exports and generating employment for many South Africans. It is, however, highly dependent on skilled labour, engineers and technicians, who are drawn from the limited pool of graduates that are emerging from the weak South African schooling system. Public-private partnerships have been established in an attempt to address this gap.
South Africa’s Regional Policy: The Link Between Normative Anchors and Economic Diplomacy in SADC
South Africa’s foreign policy identity is grounded in the values of good governance, democracy and human rights, as a consequence of its own transition to democratic rule in 1994. However, the past two decades have witnessed lacunae in the manner in which these values have been articulated in its economic diplomacy in Southern Africa.
Reformist zeal fails to ease path for business in Nigeria
Brazil ‘is the country of the future and always will be’. Attributed to Stefan Zweig, an Austrian novelist who emigrated to Brazil in 1941, this quote could be adapted to Nigeria, which recently hosted the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Africa Summit in Abuja.
The African Union and the Promotion of Democratic Values in Africa: An Electoral Perspective
Since its official inauguration on 9 July 2002, the African Union (AU) has made the promotion of democracy and good political governance for the development and stability of Africa one of its main priorities.