Suchergebnisse

Abstract: One of the most valuable features of Capital and Ideology is its concern to take history seriously and consider how the emergence of different political and economic regimes relate to discourses about fairness and justice across time. This paper pushes this agenda further by acknowledging that the experience of a few developed nations should not be taken as the template for the generalized study of inequality dynamics across time and space. In this paper, we interrogate Piketty's analysis and policy proposals against specificities that are central to understanding the production and reproduction of inequalities within South Africa. We reflect on the South African case, the structure of inequality and its changes since 1994. We review a battery of policy interventions that have been implemented to address inequality in the last 25 years. We emphasize that the long shadow cast by centuries of colonialism and various forms of apartheid strongly affirm Piketty's emphasis on understanding history. But this is both affirmation and critique given the foundational, imbedded impact that this specific legacy has had on post-apartheid society and its policies. Piketty is aware that the levels of inequality in South Africa are so high that this is "unknown territory." We map out some of this territory to reveal how these extreme initial wealth and racial inequities inform the reproduction of inequalities in all dimensions and undermine well intentioned policies. We claim that understanding extractive histories, imbedded wealth inequalities, and complex social and political institutions allows us to understand and confront some of the reasons why even in light of progressive policies, many of which are in line with the proposals from Piketty, government interventions have thus far failed to reduce inequality.

El actual embajador de Sudáfrica en la Argentina analiza las particularidades del proceso de democratización que vive esa nación. Hace hincapié en los diversos programas de reformas políticas, económicas y sociales que implementará la gestión de Nelson Mandela, primer presidente tras los largos años del apartheid. ; Current South African Ambassador in Argentina analyses the particular aspects of the democratization process that nation is going through. He emphasizes the different political, social and economic reform programmes that Nelson Mandela's government -the first after the long apartheid years- will carry out in the future. ; Instituto de Relaciones Internacionales

South Africa's membership of the BRICS has stirred controversy. A number of observers have argued that South Africa is too small in terms of economy and population to be considered an authentic member of this group. In this article, the author accepts that South Africa may have no place in the analytical construct that Jim O'Neill of Goldman Sachs invented in 2001, but also argues that South Africa is a valuable and legitimate member of the political construct that we know today as the BRIC(S). South Africa has the "soft power" needed to play a constructive role in the rebalancing ofgeopolitical power globally, and is a potential voice for the continent of Africa. However, South Africa's position in the BRICS must be understood in terms of its own contested role as a leader in Africa; the ambiguous outcomes of the BRICS engagement with this continent; and the danger that the BRICS may become an exclusive self-selected grouping rather than a potent force for greater global equity. ; La membresía de Sudáfrica en los BRICS ha generado controversia. Un gran número de observadores han argumentado que este país es demasiado pequeño en términos de economía y población para ser un miembro real de este grupo. En este texto se acepta que Sudáfrica podría no tener un lugar en la construcción analítica que Jim O'Neill, de Goldman Sachs, inventó en 2001; sin embargo, también se arguye que es un miembro válido y legítimo de la construcción política que hoy en día conocemos como BRIC(S). Sudáfrica tiene el soft power (poder blando) que se necesita para jugar un papel constructivo en el reequilibrio global del poder geopolítico, y es una voz potencial para el continente africano. A pesar de lo anterior, la posición de Sudáfrica en los BRICS debe ser entendida en términos de su controvertido papel como líder en África; los resultados ambiguos del compromiso de los BRICS con el continente, y el peligro de que estos se puedan convertir en un grupo exclusivo y autoseleccionado en lugar de una fuerza poderosa que logre una mayor equidad global.

This work focuses on a compared analysis of the South Afri- can decision related to the "peace and reconciliation act" of this country's Parliament, and the Colombian decision regarding the amendment of the constitution called "The juridical framework for the peace." Turning to the structure, it is developed in three major topics: 1. It provides a brief of the historical context, political background and an overview of the two decisions.2. It gives a structural analysis of the powers that each Court has and the nature of the constitutional mechanism through which both Courts decided the constitutionality of the said norms 3. It presents a critical analysis on the similarities and differences between the two systems and judgments. It presents some con- clusions.

The aim of this dissertation is to compare South African law on standard form contracts against the corresponding German law. Thus, the responses of both legal systems to the special situation occurring in cases of standard form contracts will be compared and evaluated. Thereby, the focus of this dissertation is to determine whether South African law on standard form contracts provides adequate protection for the submitting party. German law on standard form contracts provides the basis and outline against which South African law will be critically evaluated. German law was selected for this task, as it was one of the first legal systems, which enacted legislation, and addresses the issue systematically. It should be noted that this dissertation does not aim to evaluate German law on standard form contracts. In the first part of this dissertation I will provide a brief definition of the notion of freedom of contract and consumer protection. I will then proceed to highlight the relevance of standard form contracts in modern society and outline the problems associated with such contracts. This will be followed by a discussion of whether standard form contracts can be considered as classical contracts. In the second part of this dissertation I will outline the law on standard form contracts in both jurisdictions. Concerning the German law, I will give a brief overview of what the relevant provisions state. Concerning South African law, I will briefly illustrate what the relevant common law appears to be without going into far too much depth. Such outlines of the applicable laws are necessary in order to acquaint the reader with some of the important themes that this dissertation will discuss in detail. In part three the actual comparison and evaluation will follow. The comparison will include a detailed illustration of the law on standard form contracts in both jurisdictions. Thereby, some repetition in regard to the applicable law cannot be avoided. Thereafter, the evaluation will more specifically investigate whether South African law is effective in achieving its aims and whether South Africa should introduce legislation on standard form contract terms.

The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the challenges and dilemmas that are faced by Brazil and South Africa, as emerging countries denominated with the acronym of BRICS, in the context of South-South relations. We will also analyze the role of both countries, Brazil and South Africa, as active members of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Finally, the potential for integration and external relations of both emerging states (Brazil and South Africa) will be assessed, focusing on the interests and international relations of Brazil, in a context of growing regional asymmetry. A qualitative methodological approach will be used in this paper, from the perspective of the history of international relations. ; El presente trabajo tiene por propósito reflexionar críticamente sobre los desafíos y dilemas que se presentan a Brasil y Sudáfrica, países emergentes denominados con el acrónimo BRICS, en las relaciones Sur-Sur. Asimismo, se ponderará el rol de Brasil y Sudáfrica, como miembros activos del grupo BRICS (Brasil, Rusia, India, China y Sudáfrica). Finalmente, se evaluarán las posibilidades de inserción y relacionamiento externo de ambos Estados emergentes (Brasil y Sudáfrica), en función de los intereses y relaciones internacionales brasileños, en un contexto de creciente asimetría regional. Se utilizará un enfoque metodológico cualitativo, desde la perspectiva de la historia de las relaciones internacionales contemporáneas.

La búsqueda de nuevas prácticas políticas, económicas y sociales constituye un reto para replantear nuevos horizontes dentro de la cooperación Sur-Sur. Este artículo propone explorar la respuesta africana a la "Agenda África de Venezuela" a través del estudio de las relaciones con Sudáfrica como una manera de medir su efectividad, buscando cubrir un vacío en la literatura especializada, que hasta el momento se ha ocupado sobre todo de la formulación e implementación de la nueva política venezolana, olvidando evaluar las reacciones que provoca en el contexto de la nueva lucha por África. ; Th e search for new political, economic and social practices is a challenge to redefi ne new horizons within South-South Cooperation. Th is paper proposes to explore the African response to the "Venezuelan African Agenda" through the study of the relations with South Africa as a way to measure its eff ectiveness, trying to fulfi ll a vacuum in the literature that has mainly focused on the formulation and implementation of the new Venezuelan policy so far, forgetting to evaluate the reactions it provokes in the context of the new struggle for Africa. ; 155-174 ; matacarnevali@gmail.com, mariagab@cantv.net ; semestral