This paper considers the economic sanctions that were applied in the mid-1980s to pressure the South African government to end apartheid. It asks what role those sanctions played in the eventual demise of the apartheid regime and concludes that the role was probably very small. An alternative...

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has been under an EU sanctions regime. While these sanctions have not prevented Putin from ordering an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in the overall picture, they have significantly weakened Russia's ability to wage war. This paper...

The racially-constituted workplaces of South Africa under apartheid have been identified as obstacles to better industrial performance since the mid-1990s. The Department of Trade and Industry’s 2003 strategy identifies ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ (BEE) as being broadbased, inclusive, and...

South Africa’s policy of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is intended to alleviate the racially determined disparities in the distribution of the country’s wealth and income. It aims at increasing the participation of black South Africans in the formal private sector economy: more black...

The policies relating to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) in South Africa constitute a logical unfolding of a strategy which has been largely dictated by the history of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), the nature of the democratic settlement of 1994, and the structure of the South...

Economic and social transformation of post apartheid South Africa has been a central goal for the democratic regime but broad empowerment of the majority of black South Africans is yet to take place. Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) have been recognized as central for economic growth...

Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has been a major policy thrust of the democratic governments in South Africa since 1994 in attempting to redress the effects of apartheid. This paper explores the historical precedents to BEE in South Africa, its origins, and its points of contact with the...

In November 2003, the South African wine industry held its first consultative conference on ‘Black Empowerment’. The press reported to the world that the industry was at last entering ‘the new South Africa’. For years, it had been a byword for white power and black exploitation –...

Redistributive processes do not belong to the pantheon of Neo-liberalism. In this framework, inequality of resources can only be addressed by equality of opportunity. Even in ‘softer’ impersonations of Neo-liberalism, corporate (mis)behaviour is tamed by corporate social responsibility, not...

Current research into the pattern of energy usage in South Africa reveals an extraordinarily heavy reliance on coal-fired electricity, a strategy that is not only unsustainable but which has resulted in serious air pollution problems. The paper argues that this development ought to be seen in...