South Africa's bilateral relationships in the evolving foreign policy of an emerging middle power

This article introduces the special issue on ‘South African Foreign Policy: identity, directions, and intentions’. Here we seek to summarize key insights from the contributions to this special issue to deepen understanding of South Africa’s evolving post-apartheid foreign policy through an exploration of the nature and trajectory of key bilateral relationships from both the global ‘South’ (Brazil, China, Iran, the AU) and ‘North’ (Japan and the UK). This window on the country’s international relations enriches understanding of the normative and structural factors that influence not only South African foreign policy, but those of what Edouard Jordaan calls emerging middle powers as they seek to position themselves as influential actors in international affairs. We sketch the contours of these key South African relationships in four areas where the tendencies and tensions of emerging middle power foreign policies are apparent: regionalism, multilateralism, reform of global governance, and approach to moral leadership.     

Ethnographic filmmaking as narrative capital enhancement among Atauro diverwomen: a theoretical exploration

This article reports on a project involving the development and release of an ethnographic film about the women divers of Atauro Island, Timor-Leste, and suggests a theoretical framework to interpret its outcomes. It describes the project aims and the filmmaking process, and reports on its results. In doing so, the paper explores the potential use of an agent-based concept of narrative capital focused on collective agents. The article suggests that the ideas of narrative capital and transformations of capital by collective agents can provide a valuable interpretative framework for the design, implementation, and analyses of results of development interventions involving filmmaking.     

The changing political culture of the African National Congress

The early elite of the African National Congress (ANC) embraced values of moral improvement, individual responsibility and a sense of social consciousness. The ANC now governs South Africa, but with what appears to be a different set of principles. The current scourge of corruption, increasing state control, coupled with a general lack of service delivery point to behaviour of the ruling party which is inward-looking, self-seeking and self-preserving. Arguing that political culture and its accompanying values and attitudes is a prime motivator of behaviour, the paper seeks to understand the changing political culture of the dominant party. To understand the political culture of the ANC we use interviews with ANC parliamentarians and ANC supporters conducted in 2006–2007 and 2013 as well as an analysis of the ANC's Strategy and Tactics policy documents. We contend that the liberal values of the early elites were never fully embedded, but in their stead is a liberationist culture, where the state is normatively understood to be extensive and embodying the will of the people. We argue, that through the resulting centralized determination of the interests of the people, patronage networks, and diminishing of accountability, a system conducive to corruption and the pursuit of personal interest is created.     

Social normativity,housing, and urbanisation in an Indian city

A significant part of urbanisation in India is happening through unregulated or partly regulated trajectories that are either informal or semi-formal in nature, and regulatory authorities have come to terms with them on a piecemeal basis over a period of time. This article contends that what is considered unplanned by regulatory agencies is actually planned by people and facilitated by the normativity surrounding both formal and informal institutions of urbanisation in society. The study looks at the processes through which such a housing settlement comes into being and negotiates legitimacy, authorisation, as well as basic civic services.     

An Appraisal of Decomposition Cases Received at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Service Medico‐legal Mortuary During 2010–2011

Decomposed bodies pose many questions for researchers regarding environmental effects, cause of death, and patterns. This study aimed to observe the factors associated with decomposed bodies autopsied at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Service Medico‐legal Mortuary. A total of 4876 autopsies were conducted from 2010 to 2011, of which 109 were decomposed. Black individuals made up the largest proportion (67%) followed by White (26%). Males comprised 86.2%, while 12.8% were female. The mean age was 42.78 years. Most cases were in the early stages of decomposition (49.5%), with 32.1% bloated, 11.9% in active decay, 2.8% in advanced decay, and 3.7% were skeletal. Insect activity was identified in 25.7% of decomposition cases. Cause of death was determined in 48.6% of cases. Of all the cases, 64% were found indoors and 23% outdoors, while 23% had insufficient information regarding the location. Of considerable interest was the number of cases from hospitals and clinics.     

南齐萧道成之家教及其子孙之崇儒尚文——从一个侧面看萧齐皇族之“士族化”趋向

兰陵萧氏自晋宋之际以勋业进入社会上层之后,受到士族文化影响.齐高帝萧道成很重视其子孙的教育,形成了浓郁的家族文化氛围,诸子孙多具有较高的学术与文艺修养,甚至入梁后还创作出了标领时流或传之后世的佳作.萧齐子孙在为人气质及爱好等方面也显现出名士化的特征.这都表明萧齐皇族在获得统治地位后迅速"士族化"的趋向.     

人类学视野下的汉族民间巫术研究——以宁夏南部汉族的“送病消灾”巫术为例

巫术作为民间信仰的一个重要组成部分,在我国的一些乡村社会中仍然普遍存在,并且影响着人们的日常生活、价值观念和思维方式。普遍存在于宁夏南部乡村社会的“送病消灾”就是如此,它是当地乡村文化的主要组成部分。以人类学的研究视角来看,这种民间巫术是人鬼之间、人神之间沟通的主要渠道,具有深刻的文化内涵。     

Changing South Korean Water Policy after Political and Economic Liberalisation

This study explores the way in which South Korean water policy has been dynamically (re-)constructed by continuing political contestations among diverse social forces acting in and through the state in the face of political and economic liberalisation. The path-dependency of the state-driven water resource policy under the former authoritarian regime did not disappear even after the democratisation. It was difficult to transform the old authoritarian and hierarchical water governance to the newly democratic and environmentally friendly one because the Ministry of Construction, as a main actor in driving water policy under the authoritarian regimes, did not give up its interest in a dam-based policy orientation, although it did partially accept institutional tools for democratic policy making, such as public hearings and the participation of civil society in the process of establishing the water policy plan. It also showed democratic and environment-friendly gestures using the rhetoric of environmentalism and localisation. Overall, this article emphasises the importance of the path-dependency of the past authoritarian regimes under democratised society to better understand the current democratic regime’s policy orientation.     

China in Pacific Regional Politics

Abstract

Foreign aid from China to the island countries of the Pacific has grown rapidly over the last few decades and an expanding body of literature has examined various aspects of what this means for politics in the region generally. This article focuses on China’s impact on Pacific regional politics partly from the perspective of identity politics. It suggests that China has substantially increased its engagement with the Pacific island states by making use of its own identity as a South–South development partner in contrast to traditional (mainly Western) donors in the region. Unlike most traditional donors, however, China’s diplomacy and engagement are based largely on bilateralism, and this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. This approach could continue to limit its impact on Pacific regionalism, regardless of how it projects its image.