Browsing by Subject "systems thinking"

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    Lawfare and legitimacy: The wicked problem of judicial resilience at a time of judicialisation of politics in South Africa
    (2021) Dent, Kate; Corder, Hugh
    In the period from 2009-2020, South Africa has witnessed the rise of "lawfare". Lawfare is understood as the judicialisation of politics - turning to the courts and the use of the law to resolve broadly political matters. This thesis explores the unfolding implications of the judicialisation of politics for judicial legitimacy. In the displacement of the political into the judicial the reach of the courts is expanded and the legitimacy of courts engaging in a "political" role is questioned. Situated in the field of judicial-political dynamics, the interplay between law and politics is observed through the adoption of a historical-institutionalist model. This thesis identifies the causes of the judicialisation of politics and then traces its consequences for broader constitutional stability and the impact on the judicial institution. Guidelines for the Court to navigate lawfare to achieve institutional resilience and maintain judicial legitimacy are then proposed. Judicialisation of politics is caused primarily through the failures of the other branches of government to fulfil their assigned constitutional role. Institutional imbalance in a dominant party democracy means that opposition parties and civil society organisations are left with little recourse but to appeal to the Court to be a constitutional bulwark. The Court is then compelled to step into the breach and fill the accountability vacuum. In identifying the causes of judicialisation, a fuller understanding of Lawfare emerges, expanding current scholarship beyond its traditionally abusive characterisation. It posits a duality to Lawfare in that it can be both an abuse of law and a last line of defence. Through observing the judicial political interactions, a trajectory from the judicialisation of politics to the politicisation of law is mapped. The politicisation of law sees political power refocused on the courts, exposing them to political aggression and attack by the dominant party. The judicialisation of politics that seeks accountability from recalcitrant political actors asks much of the courts, at a time when ensuring executive oversight is the most dangerous, because of the ease with which a hostile executive in a dominant party democracy can implement measures that may undermine the independence of the judiciary. The Constitutional Court has shown a remarkable ability to navigate this era of Lawfare, remaining resolute under fire. However, the more successful the Court is in holding the line against executive abuse of power, the more the judicial route is identified as a powerful weapon to achieve more abusive political objectives. The relationship between Lawfare and legitimacy is identified as a wicked problem that demands expanding boundaries to observe the courts influence on the political environment, and the political environment's influence on the judicial role and its legitimacy. Through advancing a multi-dimensional paradigm of judicial legitimacy, the dialectics of judicial legitimacy are shown to be aggravated by the judicialisation of politics. In this respect it is argued that where the foundations and assumptions on which legitimacy is predicated shift, legitimacy must be re-examined. It is therefore argued that in a culture marked by an impunified disregard of non-judicial regulatory enforcement and increasing non-compliance with judicial orders, the impulse to preserve legitimacy through a detached, formalist stance will not be sufficient. Judicial legitimacy must be relocated in the ability of the Court to be responsive. Pulled into the role of judicial statesmanship, the Court must adopt a robust approach to assertively uphold the rule of law. In tracking the unfolding consequences of the judicialisation of politics, the Court is asked to resolve matters beyond its institutional capabilities. Absent the normative commitment to the rule of law, the internationalisation of constitutional norms, and the political interest to implement remedial orders, the Court is unable to effect workable relief. In tracing the dangers of the continued trend of Lawfare, the thesis sketches a downward spiral of reputational strength of the Court and a decline in democratic responsibility. This leads to an inability to achieve effective reform that ends in disenchantment, questioning the faith placed in the Constitution. It depicts how the Constitutional Court as 'constitutional saviour' can unravel into constitutional blame. The Constitutional Court has been able to hold the line in this era of Lawfare and repel assaults on its integrity and efforts to undermine its independence. However, without a broader culture of commitment to the rule of law, civil education and a suffusion of constitutional responsibility beyond the judiciary, the Court will not be able to continue to shoulder the weight of what is asked of it. This research depicts a circular model of Lawfare and legitimacy, where Lawfare is predicated on judicial legitimacy, but an overreliance on Lawfare will destroy judicial legitimacy.
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    The feasibility of a systems-based approach in non-profit strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation: development and asssessment of the SAMEL toolkit
    (2025) Horler, Jessica; Chapman, Sarah; Duffy Carren
    Recent trends in programme evaluation highlight increasing interest in using systems thinking to enhance the relevance and suitability of evaluation in complex social settings. However, the literature reveals a significant gap in practice-oriented empirical research on applying systems thinking to monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) in non-profit organisations (NPOs). This research addresses this gap by testing the feasibility of a systems approach to MEL development in NPO settings. Employing a multi-phase exploratory design, developed the Systems Approach to MEL (SAMEL) Toolkit for evaluators to aid NPOs in developing MEL frameworks through structured, facilitated workshops. The Toolkit was first reviewed by experts and adjusted accordingly. It was then tested with two early childhood development NPOs, with workshops facilitated by myself and another evaluator. Data were collected using workshop observations, focus group discussions, interviews with the evaluator, facilitation journals, and follow-up interviews with NPO directors and the other evaluator. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Key findings suggest systems thinking can significantly enhance strategic planning and MEL readiness in NPOs through its application to programme theory. However, MEL implementation faces substantial challenges due to contextual and organisational complexities, particularly with regard to funding. While systems thinking enhances NPO teams' strategic clarity and critical appraisal of programme design, NPOs have limited ability and capacity to act on these insights. An accountability culture and results-based management orientation to funding significantly constrains the flexibility demanded by systems thinking approaches. Based on these findings, this thesis recommends exploring ways to enhance the suitability of systems thinking for NPOs, including capacity-building and changes to rigid funding and reporting requirements.
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    A Work Systems View of Unplanned Business Process Change: The Case of #feesmustfall at a South African University
    (2019) Joubert, Trevor; Seymour, Lisa
    Aim/Purpose Improving or changing business processes is one of the most important roles for Information technologies functions. Yet, most organizations struggle with planned process change and even more with unplanned change. There is little support from research as the dynamics of planned process change is understud-ied and unplanned process change is seldom researched. Background This paper describes the impact of unplanned business process change from a systems perspective. The #feesmustfall student protest movement, which be-gan in 2015, and affected Universities throughout South Africa provides the context. Methodology An interpretive abductive case study at a South African university used Steven Alter’s Work System framework to describe the unplanned business process change that occurred due to the #feesmustfall student protest movement. Contribution Theoretically, this paper demonstrates the practical use of Alter’s work system framework to analyze unplanned business process change. Practically, it de-scribes and explains the impacts of the change which may be useful to execu-tives or administrators responsible for operational systems within organizations. Findings During unplanned business process change, change management, staff training, customizable technology and strategic fluidity and focus were found to be im-portant. Unplanned business process change results in all elements of the work systems and its environment changing, even resulting in changed products and customer behavior. Impact on Society If organizations are more aware of the impacts of unplanned process change they will be better equipped to control them. Future Research Future action research studies on unplanned business process change could suggest actions for manager’s dealing with them. Keywords business process management, work system theory, systems thinking, un-planned change, #feesmustfall