Browsing by Author "Radebe, Themba Innocent."

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An examination of South Africa’s foreign policy towards Israel and Palestine after 1994, with a specific focus on the conflict between these two respective territories/countries.
(2016) Radebe, Themba Innocent.; Mngomezulu, Bhekithemba Richard.
The Israel-Palestine Conflict, which fully broke out in 1948 after the United Nations officially recognized the State of Israel, has been dragging on for decades. Incidentally, South Africa also introduced the apartheid policy in 1948. Henceforth, an unholy relationship between these two pariah states began in earnest. Both Israel and apartheid South Africa were accused of dispossessing and ill-treating the indigenous people of their land. Moreover, these states saw themselves as exporters of Western values into the two very distinct worlds and cultures they found themselves in. However, the demise of apartheid in 1994 saw a change of tune from the incoming administration, as it sided with the marginalised Palestinians. The majority Black government in a majority Christian country, South Africa, chose to side with the Palestinians despite strong Biblical evidence supporting Israel’s claims to the Palestinian territory. All this was owing to the fact that South Africa’s liberation movement, the African National Congress [ANC], had fought alongside and enjoyed the support of its Palestinian equal, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation [PLO]. The study adopted the qualitative paradigm. This decision was predicated on the fact that the study was mostly desk-top based. Primary data were collected by administering questionnaires via email to purposively selected informants. Secondary data were generated through consulting books, journal articles, newspapers and internet resources. Realism, Institutionalism and Human Rights theories were chosen to guide the study. These three theories assisted in deciphering how states deal with one another, how institutions can mediate or escalate tensions between states, and how human rights are significant in the formulation of foreign policies. The study reveals that although, at face value, South Africa seems to be favouring the Palestinian State, its official foreign policy towards both Israel and Palestine is even-handed. This is despite vocal voices from within some members of the cabinet and leaders of the tripartite alliance supporting Palestine and condemning Israeli atrocities in that territory. Furthermore, the study reveals that religious fundamentalism and intolerance have contributed in the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict. South Africa as a multicultural society with diverse religions could serve as a catalyst in providing solutions to this struggle. That is if the role of religion in the encounter is not relegated to the periphery.
An exploration of the implications for Nigeria and South Africa of Nigeria's overtaking of South Africa as Africa's economic giant.
(2014) Radebe, Themba Innocent.; Mngomezulu, Bhekithemba Richard.
South Africa was said to have been overtaken by Nigeria as the biggest economy in Africa in April 2014. This study looks at how this will affect the newly crowned biggest economy and the recently dethroned second biggest economy in the African continent. The fact that Nigeria is the biggest oil producer in the continent and South Africa the biggest gold and platinum producer in the world makes for an interesting observation and comparison. Both countries are important in the international arena. South Africa is a member of an influential grouping of leading developing countries, BRICS which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. On the other hand Nigeria is a member of the influential oil grouping, OPEC. The type of research the study undertook fell within the qualitative paradigm. This paradigm was chosen merely because the study was mostly desktop based. Secondary data was generated through books, journal articles, newspapers and internet resources. The relevant theory chosen to guide the study was the comparative advantage theory which looks at the goods that both countries produce and that have made them powers to be reckoned with in the continent when it came to trading and other areas. The study revealed that although Nigeria is now the biggest economy in Africa but this does not mean it will outrank South Africa in most meaningful economic measures outside the GDP size. However if South Africa’s economy continues to struggle Nigeria’s economy will not only be bigger in terms of GDP size but will also improve in other economic areas as well. It has also been revealed that although South Africa is a politically stable country compared to Nigeria, which is struggling to contain Islamic militant group, Boko Haram, intermittent strikes, high levels of crime, corruption and electricity outages do their level best to ensure that the country suffers from fragile instability. Based on these findings the study proposes that both countries need to be vigilant and take precautionary measures in order to protect their continental and international image.