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7 Citizenship in Social Movements: Constructing Alternatives in the Anti-Privatization Forum, South Africa Meghan Cooper

This paper explores how social movements construct citizenship and redefine the very notion of the political realm. Social movements have quickly become powerful actors within South Africa’s civil society.

Stretching a Human Rights Approach in Search of Social Justice

Rights based strategies for obtaining social justice tend to focus on claiming legal rights at the level of the nation state. Drawing on findings from the Hivos knowledge programme in India, South Africa and Uganda, we argue that such a ‘purist’ rights based approach may overlook the potential of ´culture´ as a complementary source of inspiration for civic action.
Mobilising Social Justice conference, 23/24 November 2009, Johannesburg, South Africa. Eugene from Africa Realtime Productions

Interview with Jackie Dugard

Bio: Jackie Dugard is the Executive Director of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI). Prior to co-founding SERI (in January 2010), Jackie was a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg between 2004 and 2009.Jackie’s areas of expertise are socio-economic rights, socio-legal studies and access to basic services and justice for the poor. Jackie has a BA (Hons) in African Politics and an LLB from...

Contesting the Role of Social Movements in Post-Apartheid South Africa: The Treatment Action Campaign

This article contests the role of social actors within a democratic context by looking at post-apartheid social movements in general and the case study of the Treatment Action Campaign in particular. By illustrating the structure, activities, goals and accomplishments of the Treatment Action Campaign up until the end of 2006, this work will argue that it represents an innovation in social movements in South Africa via its unique strategies and networks that have transformed the issue of HIV/A...

Problematizing Civil Society in South Africa and beyond

South Africa’s soccer fever has subsided, but recent sparks of violent protest and public sector strikes indicate that for the foreseeable future, social tensions are here to stay. Fueled by perverse social-economic inequalities and fragile public institutions, outbursts of public anger will continue to send out warning signals to the wider world that stability and democracy in South Africa cannot be taken for granted. This post brings together the findings of four recent studies on civil soc...

Mobilising Social Justice in South Africa - perspectives from Researchers and Practitioners

How do civic actors in South Africa deal with contemporary developmental challenges such as socio-economic inequality, limited access to basic services, xenofobic tensions and governance constraints. At a time of rising social tensions, the country’s institutions are in danger of losing the legitimacy they gained in the wake of democratic dispensations of the 1990s.

Black Bull, Ancestors and Me - Boshadi Semenya

In Black Bull, Ancestors and Me My Life as a Lesbian Sangoma, Nkunzi Zandile Nkabinde explores issues around sexual culture and sexual identity from the vantage points of an African cosmological framework and feminist epistemology. Female same-sexuality is identified as a site of struggle between the interests and African ways of knowing as embodied through traditional Zulu culture, and the peculiarities of modern life. She draws tight links between African spiritual ritual performances as m...

Queer Jihad. A View from South Africa - Scott Kugle

Muslims in Cape Town, South Africa, explore ways to be openly lesbian, gay, and transgendered and still be part of a muslim community. Advocacy groups there assert their place asinterpreters of islam in a way that is open to diversity and engaged in a quest for justice.

Simon Tseko Nkoli - Ireen Dubel

In 2007, the South African Gay and Lesbian Archives, Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) celebrated its tenth anniversary. In a relatively short period of time, these archives have been able to assemble a unique collection focussed on the history of gays and lesbians in South Africa. Magazines, videos, newspaper clippings, minutes of action meetings, T-shirts, interviews, letters and photographs have all found their way to the archives. By making the collection accessible GALA wants to c...

The impact of legal mobilisation on the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF)

Under the South African Constitution, reinforced by a national Free Basic Water policy, all South African citizens have a right to water. In practice however, local governments continue to trade water as a commercial service, with perverse effects for the poorest. A case in point is Phiri, a poor suburb in Soweto. In 2004, Against the will of the residents, Johannesburg Water installed a prepaid water system. The system delivered a generally insufficient quota of water free of charge. If hous...

The budget process and strategic civic interventions

The focus of this research, carried out by Mr. Frank Jenkins, is on addressing poverty reduction and protecting the rights of migrants and refugees through participation in parliamentary processes as envisaged in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Specifically, the paper will explore how strategic interventions in the budget process can facilitate participation by civil society in other parliamentary processes such as passing legislation – i.e. translation of policy into laws –...

Mobility and mobilization; structure and strategy of claiming migrant rights in Southern Africa

Urban centres in Kenya and South Africa are among the main hubs in Subsharan Africa hosting large groups migrants from neighbouring countries. Migrants traverse and transform geographic, social, and political space. Within these spaces, successful quest for profit, passage, and protection depend on rights to work, move, and access necessary social support. Focusing on three South African cities and Nairobi, urban centres with significant non-national populations—this study will document and e...

ISS-HIVOS MA research programme 2009

Each year, the Civil Society Building Knowledge Programme supports a number of ISS students to conduct research on issues pertaining to the main questions of the programme. This year, five ISS students were awarded a research grant. Last week, after extensive preparation at ISS and consultation with HIVOS staff and partners, they departed for countries ranging from Uganda to Nicaragua to do their field research. You can find summaries of the research project here.

Researchers on the move

Each year, the Civil Society Building Knowledge Programme supports a number of ISS students to conduct research on issues pertaining to the main questions of the programme. This year, five ISS students were awarded a research grant. Last week, after extensive preparation at ISS and consultation with HIVOS staff and partners, they departed for countries ranging from Uganda to Nicaragua to do their field research. You can find summaries of the research projects here. During the next few months,...
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