Does the draft investment bill threaten foreign investors’ rights?
South Africa’s approach to regulating the protection of foreign investments and investors has become controversial. It has centered on the future of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), pitting the European Union (EU) against the South African government.
Crisis in the Crimea: a violation of international law?
The people of the Crimean peninsula in the Ukraine voted overwhelmingly to join the Russian Federation on 16 March 2014. The following day the Crimea declared its independence from the Ukraine as the Republic of Crimea and the Autonomous City of Sevastopol. And on 18 March 2014 the territories formally joined the Russian Federation through […]
The way forward for the BRICS New Development Bank
2013 was a difficult year for the five BRICS countries. China and Brazil faced slowing growth, South Africa and India were hit by currency instability, and concern over Russia’s governance deepened (before recent events in the Ukraine pitched them into all-out crisis).
The Evolving Agenda of the BRICS: Perspectives from Brazil and South Africa
As the sixth BRICS head of state summit approaches, it is clear that the grouping’s agenda is far from static.
‘Energetic’ Dialogues in South Africa: The EU Example
Since the energy crisis of 2007–2008, investor interest in the South African energy sector has been on the rise. This has drawn more attention to the importance of energy in the South Africa–EU relationship.
Brazil’s South–South Co-operation Strategies: From Foreign Policy to Public Policy
This paper analyses the role of institutional and non-institutional actors in current Brazilian foreign policy agendas, particularly in the field of South–South co-operation.
FDI in South Africa: Promotion and Protection of Investors… and the Public Interest
In 2012 Walmart announced the acquisition of a majority stake in South African retail chain Massmart.
Improving the Quality, Capacity and Compliance of Environmental Licensing Processes in Mozambique: The Case of the Oil and Gas Industry
This paper analyses the current situation regarding the environmental licensing of the oil and gas industry in Mozambique.
The African Union: toward a leaner agenda
Prior to the 24th ordinary session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU), foreign ministers of the AU member states met from 24 to 26 January 2014 for their ministerial retreat in Bahir Dar (a city in Amhara state) located on the southern shores of Lake Tana which is the largest lake in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile.
Funding African Governance Institutions and Processes: Insights and Lessons
This paper examines the financing of selected governance institutions in Africa, looking at national, continental and international levels and at the institutions and processes that assess, improve or incentivise governance. Specifically, anti-corruption commissions and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) structures are reviewed as institutions at the national and continental level respectively.