When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

TOPIC: south africa

Ideas

What Makes Rugby The Defining Sport Of Modern Democracy

As the Rugby World Cup final approaches, French writer Yves Bourdillon notes that the sport is popular almost exclusively in democratic countries. The reason? Its Anglo-Saxon origins, the complexity of its rules and its values, a miracle of balance between individualism and collective spirit.

-Analysis-

PARIS — The Rugby World Cup has an unusual, if not unique, feature among major national team competitions: all 20 participants are free-market democracies.

The list of countries — South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales, Ireland, Australia, France, Japan, Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Italy, Samoa, Georgia, Uruguay, Tonga, Romania, Namibia, Chile and Portugal — can be verified as being among the more or less liberal states that, according to the Freedom House think-tank, account for only one-quarter of humanity.

It's true that some of these democracies, such as Georgia, have room for improvement, or haven't always been so democratic, as in the case of Argentina 40 years ago. And of course there's the unique case of South Africa, which lived under the racist system of apartheid until 1991, before the team's memorable post-apartheid victory in the 1995 World Cup — albeit controversial for other reasons, with suspicions of doping and poisoning of New Zealand's opponents before the final.

But none of the participants in this year's tournament are to be found among the authoritarian regimes of the Middle East, Africa, Asia or Latin America, where rugby is hardly ever played — the number of rugby players never exceeds 0.01% of the population.

Watch VideoShow less

This Happened — September 7: Desmond Tutu Named Archbishop

On this day in 1986, Desmond Tutu was named Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa.

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.


Keep reading...Show less

Why China Has Bet On A Bigger (And Nastier) BRICS To Challenge The West

The BRICS economies' inclusion of new members like Iran may not make business sense, but it fits with the Sino-Russian strategy of drawing states of the Global South into their orbit in open confrontation with the U.S. and the rest of the West.

-Analysis-

BUENOS AIRES — Last month's summit in Johannesburg of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), leading to a decision to expand the club, felt like geopolitical déjà vu. It recalled the 1960s Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of Third World states that refused, apparently, to take sides in the Cold War, either with the capitalist West or Soviet-led communism.

NAM neutrality was limited, often deceptive, and became obsolete with the fall of the Communist bloc in the late 1980s. The dilemma of what was then called the Third World — now, the Global South — was in the stance it should take toward Russia, the successor state to the Soviet Union that shared few of its traits and goals. Ideologically, the end of communism confused NAM: It didn't know what to do with itself.

That is until now, with an apparent resuscitation of its spirit in BRICS (formed in 2009). Yet the idea of equidistance ends there, as BRICS is led by Russia and communist China and increasingly a part of their open challenge to Western hegemony.

Its founders include Brazil, which has its own agenda, and India. Both states have adopted their own versions of neutrality in the Ukrainian crisis, first in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine,then after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.

So far, says Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at Brazil's Getulio Vargas Foundation, the two states have resisted Russia's systematic bid to use an explicitly anti-Western vocabulary in BRICS documents. This, he says, would explain the vague tone of the group's resolutions.

South Africa, the last member to join the group (in 2010), is a lesser power in terms of economy and political clout. But it symbolizes the worldwide spirit the group would come to embody.

Keep reading...Show less

Ukraine War And BRICS Ambitions? Why The Superpowers Still Hold The Cards

The war in Ukraine has become globalized, with its effects being felt from Africa to China. The only hope of de-escalation is in a potential diplomatic summit between the U.S. and China this autumn.

-Analysis-

PARIS — Beware of optical illusions. The fact that the war in Ukraine has become globalized doesn't mean it's a world war. Nonetheless, its impact is being felt everywhere, and political decisions regarding the unfolding conflict in Ukraine, fueled by doubts and ideological divisions, cannot be reserved to the European theater alone.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Take the BRICS Summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in Johannesburg this week: It may give the impression that a coherent anti-Western bloc is emerging. The reality is more complex, and while the participants all benefit from this political display, their differences are immense. Yet, we must not overlook the political message being sent out by this emerging "club" of nations.

When it comes to the Sahel region of north-central Africa, for example, we risk falling into the same distorted reflection of reality. After the putsch in Niger, it would be a mistake to see these repeated coups d'état as just one facet of the new global Cold War. The presence of the Wagner group and the specter of Russia are an opportunistic result of instability rather than its cause: the political crisis is first and foremost an African one.

Confusing cause and consequence can lead to over-reactions, of which history is full of examples. Still, the African continent is being dragged unwillingly into the shockwave of the invasion of Ukraine.

Keep reading...Show less
This Happened

This Happened — August 18: Steve Biko Is Arrested

Steve Biko, a leader of the Black Consciousness Movement, is arrested on this day in 1977 in South Africa.

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.

Watch VideoShow less
food / travel
Michelle Courtois

Gùsto! How • What • Where Locals Eat (& Drink) In Cape Town

The best tables near Table Mountain!

Penguins on the beaches, a flat-topped mountain, a place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet: Cape Town, or as others call it, the “Mother City," is a place where eating and drinking is truly a worldly and unique experience.

Known as the “Rainbow Nation,” South Africa is a diverse country and it shows in the country's cuisine. It involves combinations of ingredients, flavors and methods from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the Netherlands, indigenous Southern African cultures, Germany, Portugal, France and even the UK. Needless to say, South African food is a truly global mix.

Watch VideoShow less
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Alexei Zabrodin

Can Saudi Arabia Really Broker Ukraine Peace Without Russia?

Saudi Arabia is set to host non-Western countries to discuss how to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow-based daily Kommersant takes an in-depth look at what the high-level talks, slated for Aug. 5 in Jeddah, mean for Russia — who wasn't invited to the summit —, Ukraine and the world.

MOSCOW — Representatives of dozens of countries are expected to meet on Aug. 5 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss how to initiate peace talks on Ukraine. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed the news on Sunday. According to the Wall Street Journal, the meeting is organized on the initiative of Kyiv and with the support of the West. In addition to Ukraine's allies, countries such as Brazil, India, Egypt, Indonesia and South Africa have been asked to participate. Notably, Russia has not received an invitation to the event.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The summit is intended to bridge the gap between Western and non-Western perspectives on both the Ukrainian war and ways to resolve it. Based on statements made by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in St. Petersburg, it appears that global demand for a quick end to the conflict is growing.

Watch VideoShow less
This Happened

This Happened — June 24: South Africa Wins Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand took place on this day in 1995 at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.

Watch VideoShow less
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Pierre Haski

Why Any Attempt At Ukraine Peace Is A Non-Starter Right Now

African leaders traveled to both Kyiv and Moscow to discuss a potential "peace plan" for the war in Ukraine. Predictably the envoys failed, and others will likely meet the same fate as Ukraine's counteroffensive kicks into gear and Putin keeps digging in.

-Analysis-

PARIS — It was an attempt at mediation that had absolutely no chance of success. The four African presidents who traveled to Kyiv and then on to Moscow left without making any progress in bringing the two sides closer.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The predictable failure can be attributed to two factors: first, ambiguities in the proposals and positioning of the mediators from South Africa, Senegal, Zambia and Comoros. And second, the meeting's timing — in the middle of the Ukrainian counteroffensive — wouldn't have allowed for any political movement while the balance of power remains unstable.

Ukraine had the most cautious reaction to the content of the proposals. An end to the fighting today would mean "freezing" the conflict in favor of Russia and its territorial gains, without any guarantee that possible future negotiations would restore the country's sovereignty.

One particular clause in the African plan was unacceptable to Ukrainian ears: the suspension of the indictment of Vladimir Putin before the International Criminal Court for war crimes. African heads of state visited the Ukrainian city of Bucha, site of a massacre of civilians in the early weeks of the Russian invasion, but apparently it did not move them enough to reverse that clause.

Watch VideoShow less
eyes on the U.S.
Asafa Jalata

The Unique Role Of African Americans In Building A New U.S.-Africa Alliance

Recent allegations by the U.S. ambassador to South Africa that the African nation gave ammunition and weapons to Russia in December 2022, amid Russia’s war on Ukraine, illustrate the complexity of U.S.-Africa relations.

Even as South Africa investigates those claims, the Biden administration is trying to strengthen ties with the African Union, a continental member organization, and 49 of Africa’s 54 countries, including South Africa, on geopolitical and commercial issues.

The only African countries the U.S. is not courting are four that were suspended from the African Union, and Eritrea, a country with which the United States doesn’t have a formal relationship.

The U.S. is making this grand African play as it competes with China to influence the continent’s future. And while this particular U.S.-China contest is relatively new, U.S. involvement in Africa is not.

The way the U.S. has been involved on the continent, though, has changed over time, depending on the era, U.S. interests and a particular African nation’s needs. In 1822, for example, the U.S. began to send freeborn African Americans and emancipated former enslaved African Americans to Africa, where they settled the colony that would eventually become Liberia. That settlement was originally governed by white Americans.

Watch VideoShow less
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Pierre Haski

Can South Africa Be An Honest Broker For Peace In Ukraine?

After Beijing's dubious push to lead negotiations on settling the war in Ukraine, now it's South Africa's turn. But its "ambiguous" neutrality on the war — and reports of secret weapons sales to Russia — raise serious skepticism in Kyiv and the West.

-Analysis-

PARIS — New peace initiatives for Ukraine continue to be announced one after the other, without much success. China has just sent an envoy to Kyiv, who will continue on to Moscow and Paris soon after.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Now, it's Africa's turn: a delegation of six African heads of state is expected soon to go to Kyiv and Moscow "to try to find a peaceful solution" to the conflict, according to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

When war is raging, all peace initiatives are welcome, of course. Still, questions remain about the true motivations behind these efforts.

China, which has an ideological alignment with Vladimir Putin's Russia, has significantly increased its purchases of Russian hydrocarbons, and took over a year to establish contact with Ukraine.

The same applies to the recently announced trip by the South African president. His country is at the center of a diplomatic storm over its relations with Russia, which raises serious questions. The peace initiative seems to come at the right time for South Africa to extricate from a diplomatic predicament.

Watch VideoShow less
This Happened

This Happened — May 10: Mandela Sworn In

Nelson Mandela was sworn into the presidency at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa on this day in 1994.

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.

Watch VideoShow less