The open society initiative for Southern Africa and the struggle for open society in Swaziland
Date
2013
Authors
Masigo, Lionel Percy.
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Abstract
This study of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa and the
struggle for an open society in Swaziland 2005-201 O is premised on the
the notion that Swaziland is faced with serious challenges relating to
democratic governance and the abuse of fundamental human rights that
undermine the basic values of an open society.
An open society is a society in which the state is responsive to the needs
and interests of its people, is tolerant of different and differing views, and
has clear, transparent, and accessible political mechanisms that allow
people to determine who their leaders will be. Open society as an ideal
stands for "freedom, democracy, and rule of law, human rights, social
justice, and social responsibility" (Soros, 2000: 120). Open society
, therefore, demands and requires the rule of law that guarantees freedom
of speech and press, freedom of association and assembly, and other
rights and freedoms that empower citizens to defend themselves against
the abuse of power and to make use of the judicial branch for such
defense (Soros, 2010: 70).
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), upon recognizing the
deteriorating situation of human rights and governance declared
Swaziland a crisis country, together with Angola, Zimbabwe, and later
DRC. By "crisis country" OSISA means a country in which a calamity of
governance persists through various manifestations, and these
conditions are continuously in decline. The calamity of governance
denotes a situation that has gone beyond ongoing systemic weakness:
one that has gone into dysfunction and, without intervention, is on the
precipice of total disequilibrium. Human rights and governance in a crisis
country are systemically weak. The OSISA Board, therefore, established
the Swaziland Engagement Fund to help address the situation. ( Abbreviation abstract)
Description
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law
and Management, University of Witwatersrand, in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Management (in the field of Public and Development
Management)