The keffiyeh conundrum
The keffiyeh is worn by many Western academics and feminists as a symbol of liberation. But its history and the societies from which it comes tell a very different story.
Funding journalism: the tender mercies of the state
Styli Charalambous says only the state can fix journalism’s “market failure”, but the state’s two journalism funding efforts produced a propaganda organ and a Gupta laundromat.
PW and the assassin
The apartheid state’s assassination of ANC chief representatives abroad has been raised in recent testimony before the Khampepe Commission of inquiry into the sabotaging of prosecutions that should have followed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) after 2003.
Ukraine: a theory of victory
As Ukraine has moved through its different phases of war, the theory of victory has changed.
Conservation beyond aid: George Ayittey’s classical liberalism
Africa’s conservation sector has primarily relied on international donors to finance protected areas, biodiversity research, and community projects. Recent disruption in overseas development assistance has exposed how fragile this model can be.
The “Constitutional Coup” – less violent, equally damaging
Nearly a decade ago, in 2017, Africa in Fact ran a piece entitled “Africa’s presidents and the term-limit controversy”. It described a strategy that incumbent leaders were using to cling to office beyond the limits imposed on them by their respective constitutions. As it typically emerged from a constitutional change designed to give a sitting head of something in excess of a specified two terms, it was given the shorthand moniker of “third termism”. “Constitutional amendments or wholesale constitutional changes to alter term limits have provided avenues to stay in office,” the article commented, “The rules are being changed, though not (technically) violated.”
A riposte to the good Dr Van Staden
Martin van Staden argues that AfriForum’s opposition to racial quotas should not be confused with opposition to diversity itself. His central claim is that AfriForum objects to state-imposed racial engineering, not to the organic diversity that emerges when individuals compete freely. As a general principle, that is an attractive argument. A liberal society should indeed aspire to reward merit rather than racial classification.
Beyond liberation-era economics and foreign relations
Despite being greeted by gushing global goodwill, ANC leaders chose policies hostile toward this era’s primary growth driver, global integration.
Creative Destruction: America’s Losers and Winners
Joseph Schumpeter in 1942 coined the term creative destruction where innovation renders old economic models obsolete. Technology marches on. Embrace the new or die.
Open letter: why do US companies enforce racial preference laws in SA?
If the United States truly stands against racial discrimination in law and policy, a glaring contradiction demands attention; hundreds of American companies operate successfully in South Africa while actively complying with – and thereby reinforcing – Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) and Employment Equity rules.