South Africa: Expanding circle of democratization

Thursday, May 17, 2018
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
(Pacific)
Speaker: 
  • Vincent Maphai

Abstract:

The South African democratic process has crossed two significant milestones. One is political legitimacy in the sense that there is no significant threat to the constitution or political systems that the country adopted in 1996. Secondly, the systemic instability threat arising from the counter-revolutionary apartheid forces is now something of the past. There is simply no imminent threat of a retreat to the country’s authoritarian and racist past. The elusive goals remain in the economic arena – namely inclusive growth, widening inequality and slow development. How is the country shaping up to these challenges?

 

Speaker Bio:

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maphai
Professor Vincent Maphai an unusual and distinguished career in academia, private sector and public service. He is currently a visiting Professor at Williams College, Massachusetts, Center for Global Studies. In an academic career spanning two decades, he studied and taught at various universities both locally. He was professor extraordinaire in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Africa (UNISA).. who held fellowships at Harvard (1988), Princeton (1989) and Stanford (1995). From 1991 to 1994 he was associate professor and head of the political science department at the University of the Western Cape. He also served as a Research Executive Director of social dynamics at the HSRC for three years..