Ubuntu, public policy ethics and tensions in South Africa's foreign policy

Qobo, Mzukisi; Nyathi, Nceku

doi:10.1080/10220461.2017.1298052

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…The Oslo Declaration refers to human rights several times, accepting that ‘health is a fundamental right of every human being’ and, in line with legal scholarship, that ‘life is the most fundamental of human rights, and that life and health are the most precious assets’ [ 4 ]. South Africa has also harnessed its moral power, its own struggle for democracy, its commitment to the promotion of human rights, and its multilateral focus to leverage its own sovereignty and that of weaker states, especially with respect to access to medicines and migration of health professionals [ 18 , 19 , 23 , 24 ]. In particular, the South African government has championed for increased access to ARV drugs to provide universal treatment to all HIV-positive people [ 25 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding how domestic health policy is integrated into foreign policy in South Africa: a case for accelerating access to antiretroviral medicines

Modisenyane

Hendricks

Fineberg

2017

Global Health Action

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Background: South Africa, as an emerging middle-income country, is becoming increasingly influential in global health diplomacy (GHD). However, little empirical research has been conducted to inform arguments for the integration of domestic health into foreign policy by state and non-state actors. This study seeks to address this knowledge gap. It takes the form of an empirical case study which analyses how South Africa integrates domestic health into its foreign policy, using the lens of access to antiretroviral (ARV) medicines.Objective: To explore state and non-state actors’ perceptions regarding how domestic health policy is integrated into foreign policy. The ultimate goal of this study was to achieve better insights into the health and foreign policy processes at the national level.Methods: Employing qualitative approaches, we examined changes in the South African and global AIDS policy environment. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants, a sample of state and non-state actors who participated in in-depth interviews. Secondary data were collected through a systematic literature review of documents retrieved from five electronic databases, including review of key policy documents. Qualitative data were analysed for content. This content was coded, and the codes were collated into tentative categories and sub-categories using Atlas.ti v.7 software.Results: The findings of this work illustrate the interplay among social, political, economic and institutional conditions in determining the success of this integration process. Our study shows that a series of national and external developments, stakeholders, and advocacy efforts and collaboration created these integrative processes. South Africa’s domestic HIV/AIDS constituencies, in partnership with the global advocacy movement, catalysed the mobilization of support for universal access to ARV treatment nationally and globally, and the promotion of access to healthcare as a human right.Conclusions: Transnational networks may influence government’s decision making by providing information and moving issues up the agenda.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding how domestic health policy is integrated into foreign policy in South Africa: a case for accelerating access to antiretroviral medicines

Modisenyane

Hendricks

Fineberg

2017

Global Health Action

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“…Even on economic grounds this would also be hard to justify given the fact that Russia and South Africa do not share strong economic ties. (Qobo & Nyathi, , p. 432).…”

Section: Ubuntu Soft Power and South Africa's Foreign Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, in 2015 South Africa bestowed Sudanese president Omar Al‐Bashir with diplomatic immunity, enabling his attendance of the AU summit hosted in the country. This was well after the International Criminal Court had issued a warrant for his arrest under the Roman Statute to which South Africa is a signatory (Qobo & Nyathi, ).…”

Section: South Africa's Soft Power In Africa: the Ups And Downsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ubuntu diplomacy: Broadening soft power in an African context

Madise

Isike

2020

Journal of Public Affairs

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Ubuntu is an African philosophical worldview that has increasingly gained prominence since South Africa's democratic transition in 1994. It places emphasis on the world's common humanity and its consequent interdependence. Through content analysis, the article examines the soft power that is inherent in South Africa's foreign policy, as codified in the 2011 White Paper on South African Foreign Policy–Building a Better World: Diplomacy of Ubuntu. In its findings, the article established a distinction between Joseph Nye's original conceptualization of soft power, formulated from a United States realist foreign policy perspective, and the one inherent in South Africa's humanist foreign policy guided by the philosophy of Ubuntu. This distinction is premised on the geopolitical disparities between the two nations. The article further examines South Africa's wielding of soft power within the African continent, the first audience of the country's diplomacy of Ubuntu.

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“…25–26), on African knowing writes… the Negro African does not draw a line between himself and the object; he does not hold it at a distance … his participation is intuitive”. In recent decades, especially through East and Southern Africa, the concept of Ubuntu has developed (Bhengu 1996 ; Mbigi and Maree 1995 ; Boon 1996 ; Qobo and Nyathi 2016 ). It is a humanistic philosophy expressed through the proverb “a person is a person through other people” and emphasizes the relatedness of all people and of all people with nature.…”

Section: Some Distinguishing Features Of Indigenous Wisdommentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Wisdom, Capital, Technology and Education

Ruth

2020

NZ J Educ Stud

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This article contrasts specific aspects of indigenous world views and wisdom on the one hand with specific themes in capitalism, colonisation, corporate interests, technology and education, on the other and argues that there is a fundamental clash of values between them. There is no assumption of a homogenous indigenous wisdom and no claim is made about novel insight into capitalism, colonisation, corporate interests and technology and education. The contribution is in tracing lines of thought in all of them and, by juxtaposing them in the context of a contemporary upsurge in digital/online/blended learning with particular attention to the global techno-corporation, to expose a fundamental clash of values that deserves more thorough scrutiny than it is getting. The paper does not present a linear argument, but rather a woven tapestry of themes. The conclusion is that education would be better served by the insights of indigenous wisdom and a more critical and tempered view of capitalism and technology.

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Ubuntu, public policy ethics and tensions in South Africa's foreign policy

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

Understanding how domestic health policy is integrated into foreign policy in South Africa: a case for accelerating access to antiretroviral medicines

Understanding how domestic health policy is integrated into foreign policy in South Africa: a case for accelerating access to antiretroviral medicines

Ubuntu diplomacy: Broadening soft power in an African context

Indigenous Wisdom, Capital, Technology and Education

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