The enforcement of anti-human trafficking law in South Africa: a case of an aircraft without a pilot

This article evaluates the effectiveness of current law enforcement efforts in combating human trafficking in South Africa. Based on a broader empirical doctoral study, it was discovered that as currently structured, the South African Police Service (SAPS) cannot be effective in the enforcement of anti-trafficking law in the country. Combating human trafficking among other things, requires a formidable law enforcement agency that is explicitly proficient in the modus operandi of the crime; the sophisticated cum dynamic nature of the forces and factors that fuel the illicit trade in a vacillating milieu. Unfortunately, academic writings on this observable position in South Africa are scanty. Therefore, an article of this nature is not just timely but urgent. Findings from the study (among others) revealed that a wide-gap exist in the capacity of the SAPS, and other relevant stakeholders, to enforce anti-trafficking law in the country. Hence, it was recommended that for a result-oriented approach, South Africa needs to establish a specialised law enforcement agency distinct from the regular police structure to enforce anti-trafficking law in the country.     

Feature reviews

Perspectives on the Philippines

Crisis in the Philippines: The Marcos Era and Beyond. John Bresnan, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1986. 284pp. n/p

The Philippines Reader: A History of Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Dictatorship and Resistance. Daniel B Schirmer and Stephen Rosskam Shalom, Boston, Massachusetts: South End Press. 1987. 425pp. $11.00hb

The Philippines After Marcos. R J May and Francisco Nemenzo, London: Croom Helm. 1985. 239pp. £19.95hb

Touching Ground, Taking Root: Theological and Political Reflections on the Philippine Struggle. London: Catholic Institute for International Relations. 1986. 214pp. £5.75pb

Winds of change in Moscow

The Sixth Continent: Russia and Mikhail Gorbachev. Mary Frankland, London: Hamish Hamilton. 1987. 292pp. £12.95hb

The Waking Giant. The Soviet Union under Gorbachev. Martin Walker, London: Michael Joseph. 1986. 282pp. £14.95hb

The Soviet Paradox: External Expansion, Internal Decline. Seweryn Bialer, London: I B Tauris. 1986. 391pp. £19.50hb

The Soviet Union under Gorbachev. Edited by Martin McCauley, London: Macmillan. 1987. 247pp. £29.50hb/£9.95pb

The future of China

China—Politics, Economics and Society: Iconoclasm and Innovation in a Revolutionary Socialist Country. Marc Blecher, London: Frances Pinter, Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Riener. 1986. 232pp. £22.50hb/£6.95pb

The China Challenge: Adjustment and Reform. David S G Goodman, Martin Lockett and Gerald Segal, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul (for Royal Institute of International Affairs). 1986. 86pp. £5.95pb

The Political Economy of Reform in Post‐Mao China. Edited by Elizabeth J Perry and Christine Wong, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1985. 331pp. £11.95pb

Apartheid observed

Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White. Joseph Lelyveld, London: Sphere Books. 1987. 390pp. £3.95pb

Black and Gold: Tycoons, Revolutionaries and Apartheid. Anthony Sampson, London: Hodder and Stoughton. 1987. 280pp. £12.95hb

The Sanctions Handbook. Joseph Hanlon and Roger Omond, Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1987. 389pp. £4.95pb

South Africa: No Easy Path to Peace. Graham Leach, London: Methuen. 1986. 312pp. £2.95pb

King Solomon's Mines Revisited: Western Interests and the Burdened History of Southern Africa. William Minter, New York: Basic Books. 1986. 401pp. n/p

Environmental warfare

Herbicides in War: The Long‐Term Ecological and Human Consequences. Edited by Arthur H Westing, London: Taylor and Francis. 1984. 210pp. £15.00hb

Environmental Warfare: A Technical, Legal and Policy Appraisal. Edited by Arthur H Westing, London: Taylor and Francis. 1984. 107pp. £12.00hb     

The capitalist conjuncture: over-accumulation,financial crises,and the retreat from globalisation

This article argues that the key crisis that has overtaken today's global economy is the classical capitalist crisis of over-accumulation. Reaganism and structural adjustment were efforts to overcome this crisis in the 1980s, with little success, followed by globalisation in the 1990s. The Clinton administration embraced globalisation as the ‘Grand Strategy’ of the USA, its two key prongs being the accelerated integration of markets and production by transnational corporations and the creation of a multilateral system of global governance, the pillars of which were the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The goal of creating a functionally integrated global economy, however, stalled, and the multilateral system began to unravel, thanks among other things to the multiple crises created by the globalisation of finance, which was the main trend of the period. In response partly to these crises, partly to increasing competition with traditionally subservient centre economies, and partly to political resistance in the South, Washington under the Bush administration has retreated from the globalist project, adopting a nationalist strategy consisting of disciplining the South through unilateralist military adventures, reverting to methods of primitive accumulation in exploiting the developing world, and making other centre economies bear the brunt of global adjustments necessitated by the crisis of over-accumulation.     

Criminal justice response to human trafficking in Nigeria and South Africa: suggestions for better performance

This article evaluates the response of the criminal justice system of Nigeria and South Africa in relation to human trafficking, and offer suggestions on pragmatic steps that can be taken to combat its scourge. Over the years, concerted efforts have been made to develop effective, and internationally coordinated approaches to combat the phenomenon at the national, regional and continental levels, but unfortunately, such conscientious have not yielded the desired results. Nigeria and South Africa have criminalised the menace by enacting anti-trafficking laws, but these regulations have not been able to adequately stem the tides of the crime, considering its rising profile in recent times. The reason (among others) is essentially due to the fact that these laws are selective, and not all-inclusive. Policy makers in both countries are merely formulating and adjusting strategies on an experimental basis. Though there is improvement in inter-agency cooperation within each country, but there is a wide gap in cross-national cooperation. The author draws on evolving international standards to propose six fundamentals of an effective criminal justice response to human trafficking that can be adopted by these two countries.     

Dynamic Revenue Curves for North Carolina Taxes

Dynamic tax analysis allows a tax rate to affect the economic base being taxed. Consequently, the relationship between a tax rate and the taxed economic base is nonlinear and includes a region where a higher (lower) tax rate results in lower (higher) tax revenues. Relationships between the economic base and the tax rate are estimated for five major taxes in North Carolina. In all but one case, a statistically significant negative effect was found for the tax rate on the economic base. Dynamic relationships were strongest for the sales tax and weakest for the unemployment compensation tax.     

Trends in Substance Use by Gender Among Participants in a Jail-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program: 1998–2016

Understanding trends in substance use by gender among jail-based treatment program participants can inform policies and programs tailored to this population. Preprogram assessment data from 3509 individuals entering a jail-based substance use disorder treatment program in Missouri between 1998 and 2016 were analyzed. Primary outcome was program participants’ strongly preferred substances. Demographic covariates and drug preferences were compared between males and females. Average yearly trends in preferred substances were calculated. While 25.8% of the sample preferred heroin, it was more strongly preferred by women (36.4%) than men (22.0%, p < 0.0001). Alcohol and marijuana were preferred more by males. Overall, preferences for heroin and methamphetamine increased over time while alcohol, marijuana, and other stimulants decreased. Women being more likely to prefer heroin and the increasing preference for heroin over time are consistent with national trends. Offering evidence-based treatment like pharmacotherapy and gender-sensitive approaches can help address the needs of this vulnerable population.