Does the World Bank’s Gini index show that South Africa is the most unequal society in the world?
This brief investigates the oft-repeated assertion that according to the World Bank’s Gini index, South Africa is the most unequal society in the world.
Left and Right in South African Politics To-Day II - The Right
In these two briefs, Charles Simkins traces the evolution of the South African Left and Right and considers their respective futures.
Left and Right in South African Politics To-Day I - The Left
In these two briefs, Charles Simkins traces the evolution of the South African Left and Right and considers their respective futures.
Debt - the millstone around Eskom’s neck
This brief analyses the magnitude of the problem posed by Eskom’s massive debt, coupled with the lack of information on what is being done about it.
Deepening Democracy: Petitions - What are they and how do they work?
The Sixth Parliament officially sits on 22 May 2019, and sets in motion renewed opportunities to engage our public representatives and hold them accountable to their Constitutional mandate. The HSF will consider these questions through a series of briefs exploring how to deepen our democracy. This brief explains what petitions are, and how to use them.
The Political Economy Of Corruption
Pierre de Vos published an article entitled Why Ramaphosa is probably not in a position to end corruption and patronage in Daily Maverick on 29 April, drawing on a study by Wits Professor Karl von Holdt. This brief discusses the completeness and the plausibility of their arguments.
Genocide
The particular horror evoked by genocide exists for three main reasons. Genocide is murder at a mass scale, it is usually perpetrated against the defenseless and, although tensions may build up over decades or even centuries, it can flare up very rapidly.
Sexual Assault - Part 3: Sexual violence as a Weapon of War
A very popular, yet grossly under recognised, feature and weapon of war is sexual violence. Sexual violence, like artillery, is used to cause destruction through the terrorisation of a population or as an assertion of power by belligerent forces. Rape, when committed as part of a widespread attack, is also an effective tool for bringing about the destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnical, racial or religious group – otherwise known as genocide.