Lisa Thompson

ACCEDE POLICY WORKING PAPER NO.2

SHIFTING SANDS OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC STATUS QUO: THE EMERGENCE OF THE “NEW” GLOBAL SOUTH DEVELOPMENTAL POLICY NARRATIVE AND SOUTH AFRICA’S SPECIAL ECONOMIC ONES. Summary This policy paper continues the thematic exploration of SEZs in South Africa against the backdrop of the current crises facing the global capitalist system, including the impending climate catastrophe. The […]

ACCEDE POLICY WORKING PAPER NO.1

ADVERSE INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL CONDITIONS FOR SOUTH AFRICA’S SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES Summary South Africa’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have, for the last two decades, contributed to a core – albeit underperforming – economic policy strategy known as export-led growth. They were devised by the Department of Trade and Industry as a response to a longer-lasting […]

Brics Politricks

What are the BRICS?
Together as a bloc, the five BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – control a quarter of the earth’s land mass but 42% of its population. The BRICS are relatively inwardlooking economies; although they host 46% of the global workforce, they are responsible for just 14% of world trade and 19% of world Gross Domestic Product

BRICS Development Strategies: Exploring the Meaning of BRICS ‘Community’ and ‘Collective Action’ in the Context of BRICS State Led Cooperation in South Africa

The BRICS partnership has been portrayed in mainstream social media as an inter-state initiative that could challenge the geo-political hegemony of the Western bloc. Thus, far relatively little has been said about the prospect of extending the partnership to the level of ordinary citizens and how this might be achieved. A declared goal of BRICS, […]