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null Associate Professor Jessica Piombo published in Foreign Affairs

By Julie LaRocque and Jessica Piombo
May 25, 2016

Associate Professor Jessica Piombo of the National Security Affairs Department has published an article in Foreign Affairs.

In the article, which is titled "Has South Africa Lost It's Way?," Jessica Piombo and Cherrel Africa argue that the wave of political protest sweeping South Africa this year is largely attributable to compromises the ruling African National Congress (ANC) made when first assuming power and missteps in governance during the reign of Jacob Zuma. Many of the country’s current problems lie in its tortured past, and when the ANC chose political power over economic transformation during negotiations in the early 1990s, this curtailed the party’s ability to address these challenges. High levels of economic inequality, massive service delivery gaps, and sharply rising costs of living have brought South Africans to the edge. Repeated government corruption scandals and the growing culture of impunity since Zuma came to power in 2007, combined with the increasingly repressive tactics of the government, fueled the worker and student outbursts that have now become characteristic. Piombo and Africa argue that South Africa is at a crossroads, and it remains to be seen whether recent developments offer the promise of improvement or the threat of worsening state corruption, economic malaise, and violent protest. If the protests can move beyond violence to sustained mobilization and the internal renewal of the ANC, South Africa may finally see lasting positive change.

 

See the full article here.


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