Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

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Browsing Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters) by Department "Department of Political Studies"

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    A Contractarian Conception Of The Basic Income Grant: General And South African Considerations
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Mc Lean, Jordan; Glaser, Daryl
    This academic report proposes an additional moral argument for implementing a basic income grant (BIG) within the framework of the social contract in South Africa. The analysis aims to establish whether there are implicit obligations on the part of the state to provide all citizens with access to social assistance. The report ascertains what moral obligations the state has towards its citizens by exploring social contract theory. The report also analyses the South African case more closely, arguing that state obligation to provide social assistance to all citizens can be found in the Constitution and in the objectives of the social. The research report offers reflections regarding how the South African state attempts to satisfy these obligations through a discussion on some of the government’s social and economic policies. The reflections argue that while the state recognises this moral obligation, it follows the structurally unviable policy position that wage employment can satisfy the social contract for the working aged population. The report investigates the nexus between the social contract and basic income, arguing that the social contract makes the provision of social assistance a moral requirement of the state and thus a basic income grant is necessary, especially in the South Africa case where a large number of working age people have no social assistance access and face high rates of structural unemployment. The report undertakes document analysis of relevant literature, government policy proposals and development programmes to achieve this objective. Ultimately, this report contributes to the understanding of the post-Apartheid social contract, the politics of the welfare system, and the discourse surrounding basic income grants.
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    South Africa's State Capture Architecture: A critique of 'State Capture' and Development in 21st Century Post­ Apartheid South Africa, using the Estina Vrede Dairy Farm Project as a case study
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-07) Mfikili, Khanya Lulibo; Brown, Julian
    State Capture can be described as corruption on a macro-level, reaching unheard and unseen of levels involving the state, state organs and private business. It has been described as the erosion of democratic processes and a 'coup d'etat'1 of some sorts of the state and its functions-functions affected are mainly empowerment, development, fiscal responsibility and transparency-turning the state 'into a shadow state'. The recent uncovering of "state capture" at different levels of government in South Africa required an analysis of the relationship between 'state capture' and development in South Africa. In this paper, this will be achieved by looking at the Free State Estina Dairy Farm Project (EVDF Project) as a unit of analysis. Four research questions around this dairy farm project will be explored, to ultimately answer the overall question: What is the relationship between development and 'state capture' in 21st Century Post-Apartheid South Africa? An extensive literature review will be done in Chapter Two looking at the history of agricultural projects, illegal financial flows (IFFs) and state capture in South Africa, in the African region and internationally. This research is qualitative in nature, utilizing a case study method. Information used was publically available sources of information, with the testimonies and evidence in the Zonda Commission Reports forming a bulk of the data analyzed. The findings and policy implications in the last chapter informed possible future studies, centered on my research. One possible future study would be a look at the role of IFFs in rural development in (South) Africa.
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    The Moral and Legal Debates of Sexual Surrogacy Therapy in South Africa: Intimacy and Care
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Khutsoane, Keabetswe Brooke; Schuhmann, Antjie; Brown, Julian; Hassim, Shireen
    The decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa is a highly controversial issue that has caused a great deal of debate in recent years. This study presents a survey of the possibilities of legalising sexual surrogacy therapy as a therapeutic option for gender and sexual minorities, particularly for people living with disabilities and those who have undergone gender affirming surgery. It investigates the potential benefits and drawbacks of a legalised system and whether certain regulations should be implemented in order to protect those involved. A survey of how sexual surrogacy therapy as a therapeutic option is shaped in terms of South Africa’s legal and political frameworks while considering socio-political implications. The study reviews existing literature to demonstrate the need for a legal and ethical consideration of sexual surrogacy therapy in South Africa’s healthcare system to address sexual exclusion and health inequalities. To do this, I outline the value of sex and argue that sex is an essential and fundamental aspect of a flourishing human life. I then bring attention to the necessity for the socialisation and institutionalisation of sexual surrogacy therapy through a discussion on sexual justice; sexual autonomy; and the rights and sexual citizenship of gender and sexual minorities. While this is not a study on the legal status of sex work in South Africa, I perform a constitutional test of Section 9 and 10 of the South African Constitution, 1996 and the Sexual Offences and Related Matters: Act No. 32 of 2007 with reference to the Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957, to determine the legal grounds and limitations of the current laws around sex work towards a discussion on the feasibility of sexual surrogacy therapy in contemporary South Africa’s healthcare system. Finally, I conclude that the transformation of social attitudes towards sex and sex work is necessary and important for ensuring due process for sexual justice in South Africa.
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    The Place of Independent Candidates in South Africa’s Multi-party Democracy
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Simelane, Nkanyiso Goodnews; Glaser, Daryl
    This study aims to assess the place of independent candidates and elected independents in South Africa’s multiparty democracy. This research attempts to answer the core question of ‘What role do independent candidates and elected independents play in South Africa’s multiparty democracy?’ This question will be explored by focusing on the electoral performance of independents in local government. The focus is on local government because South Africa’s current electoral system only permits independents to run and hold office at the local government level. The research will mainly draw from results of the local government elections in 2000, 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021. It will further briefly analyse the provincial and national levels of government and elections to interrogate the possible impact that of allowing independents to stand nationally might have for the future of independent candidates in the country. This research is situated in the broader debate about electoral reform in South Africa since the dawn of inclusive democracy. Scholars have debated the extent to which SA’s current electoral system allows for adequate accountability and citizen involvement. In recent times, the debate was reignited by a Constitutional Court (CC) judgement supporting independent candidates’ integration into the national and provincial elections. In the case of New Nation Movement NPC and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others 2020 (6) SA 257 (CC) (11 June 2020), the CC declared the Electoral Act unconstitutional insofar as “it requires that adult citizens may be elected to the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures only through their membership of political parties.” What this judgement practically meant is that Parliament must make the necessary legislative amendments and electoral reform to allow for independent candidates (who are not members of a political party) to stand and, if elected, hold office in the provincial and national legislatures by 11 June 2022. As independent candidates in the general elections is a new phenomenon in the SA context, independents have contested locally. This research attempts to extract some key data and analysis on the performance of independents at local level in order to provide statistical foundations for future scholarship on independent candidates in SA.
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    The Politics of Cancel Culture: Origins, Identity, and Prognostications of Cancel Culture in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-03) Dunlop, John Anthony Blackadder; Omar, Ayesha
    In this Research essay, I identify five socio-political developments, trends, and or features which characterize the relationship between Cancel Culture and South Africa. Firstly, because of Cancel Culture’s origins and notoriety, the concept was moulded in the United States and, therefore, a modern liberal device. Secondly, because of its roots Cancel Culture is also founded upon ideas around identity and woke politics. Thirdly, South Africa’s employment of Cancel Culture is justified within the country’s common and most troublesome socio-political struggles, which include issues with racism, decolonization, sexual assault, and gender-based violence. Fourthly, South African Cancel Culture, is ideologically and politically non-partisan, as there doesn’t seem to be an overload of opposition, claim and dismissal for the concept. Lastly, South Africa’s right-wing conservatives and far-right factions are not as hyper-critical of Cancel Culture, and their discontent and critiques of the socio-political phenomenon are not well published when compared to the Western World. This essay argues and predicts that: firstly, Cancel Culture will not take an extensive period before it becomes a household name, and more cases or examples will follow. Secondly, Cancel Culture’s social media presence will escalate, which will allow for further development and evolution of the concept. Thirdly, Cancel Culture will become a prominent fixture and component among South Africa’s various Universities. There will be an upsurge in self-censorship and political correctness amongst South African citizens to prevent attempted cancellations. South African liberals and far-left advocates will continue to be Cancel Culture’s principal protagonists and perpetuators. Following that, right-wing, conservative, and far-right South Africans will aim to retort and resist the rise of Cancel Culture. I contend that parallel to the United States, Cancel Culture will continue to be an ineffective feature of South Africa’s contemporary socio-political environment. Lastly, because of Cancel Culture’s online presence and notoriety, the concept will have a dramatic increase in academic enquiry, research, and literature.