Browsing by Subject "globalisation"

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    Open Access
    Governing regional telecommunication networks in a developing region: the SADC case
    (2015) Calandro, Enrico Simone; Gillwald Alison
    One of the political and economic responses to globalisation and the associated rise of multilateral trade agreements is the integration of national markets and their governance within regions. As developing economies have become increasingly integrated into the global economy, the harmonisation of policies and standardisation of regulations to create economies of scale and scope, has been one of the primary strategies to improve regional competitiveness. With the global economy underpinned by a dynamic communication infrastructure, African regional economic communities (RECs) have increasingly recognised the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in realising the vision of regional integration, and as a major determinant of national and regional competitiveness. Despite member states' acknowledgement of the need for regional connectivity, many initiatives across Africa aimed at supporting and establishing harmonised ICT policy frameworks have not had the intended outcomes. Strategies for developing seamless regional ICT infrastructures - necessary for the achievement of universal policy objectives of improved access to, and usage of, affordable broadband services now widely demonstrated to drive economic growth - have not been realised. Through a case study of regional policy-making in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the thesis examines the political economy underlying regional processes and structures for the development and the implementation of ICT policy frameworks, as shaped by epistemic communities. A conceptual framework is constructed as a lens through which to assess the role of capacity building as a tool in foreign affairs in the institutional arrangements within SADC countries and ICT policy outcomes in the region. This reveals the wider political, economic and more specific policy and regulatory constraints hampering the development of the information society from a developing region perspective. Applying a hybrid methodology, empirical information was gathered through quantitative secondary data but using qualitative methods to gather the primary evidence for the case. This evidence from multiple sources is examined through a broad political economy framework to contextualise the research problem and develop a rich narrative of regional integration efforts in the area of information communication technologies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Following rigorous and extensive gathering of information from face to face interviews following an exhaustive document analysis, detailed coding of the data and triangulation of findings enable d an analysis of how institutional arrangement s in the region -despite the accepted rationale and logic of market integration -have largely failed to achieve the intended IV ICT policy objectives stated in SADC protocols and declarations despite considerable advances in the formal harmonisation of aspects of ICT policy and regulation.
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    Neoliberalism and rural exclusion in South Africa: Xolobeni case study
    (2021) Madiya, Sisanda Bongiswa; Maluleke, Gavaza; Lushaba, Siyabonga
    This study investigates the exclusion of rural communities from the postcolonial South African nation state as a result of the neoliberal agenda of the democratic government. This is a qualitative study that was conducted using a desktop analysis of literature and information on the case of the rural Xolobeni community and their resistance to mining. The secondary sources analysed included books, journal articles, news articles and online court documents. The study was also guided by the postcolonial concepts of the nation state and neoliberalism, which have both contributed to the conceptualisation of citizenship in the postcolonial world. The study found that economic growth-centred development in South Africa is often at the expense of those living in the poor communities of the country, such as in the rural areas (Capps & Mnwana, 2015; Kunnie, 2000). Rural communities, such as the former Bantustans, are often stripped of their land rights and livelihood strategies without their consent, at the hands of the democratic government of South Africa under the guise of development. This study argues that this is an injustice that results in the exclusion of rural communities from the postcolonial nation state. This exclusion is not only undemocratic – it resembles the oppression of these communities that characterised apartheid in South Africa.
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    South African cinema after apartheid: A politicaleconomic exploration
    (2010) Treffry-Goatley, Astrid
    When South Africa was emancipated from the oppressive apartheid regime in 1994, it was a severely divided society in need of an inclusive national identity to bind its citizens and maintain peace. Therefore, the state targeted the cultural industries, including film, as a means of promoting symbolic representations of national unity. The film industry was further identified as a priority sector for economic growth and as a potential platform for equitable redress. This article discusses existing and emerging finance, distribution and exhibition structures in the post-apartheid film industry. It considers government interventions in the form of film policies and development strategies with the purpose of examining the influence of globalising forces, in particular neoliberalism, on the apparent market-orientation of such interventions. The results presented indicate that the post-apartheid vision of equality, freedom and diversity does not always sit comfortably with the neoliberal, free-market principles promoted in the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) programme of 1996. Moreover, it suggests that in this commercial environment, the voices of the historically oppressed black majority, rather than enjoying a sense of artistic and creative freedom, can in fact encounter commercial censorship through the commodification of films for an export-orientated market.
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    Open Access
    Writing Your World Week 2 Video 6 - Applying Reading Strategies: Blommaert's Chapter
    (2019-06-01) Hunma, Aditi; Nomdo, Gideon
    This video focuses on the application of the reading strategies on Blommaert's chapter. The video provides the source of the reading and a summary on the book that the academic text comes from. The word 'discourse' is then defined and discussed with a focus on how words change over time and context. The video goes through a preview of the academic text. it then analyses the heading. During the overview sections, the video analyses the highlighted quotes from the reading. The inview of the article provides an in depth analysis of the words written within the academic text. The video provides questions to ask whilst reading through the text. It then touches on the relevance of the article based on the question asked during the initial phase of analysing the academic text. This is video 6/10 in week 2 of the Writing your World course.