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Steven Friedman

Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg

Steven Friedman is Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Rhodes University and the University of Johannesburg.

He is a political scientist who has specialized in the study of democracy. He researched and wrote widely on the South African transition to democracy both before and after the elections of 1994 and has, over the past decade, largely written on the relationship between democracy on the one hand, social inequality and economic growth on the other. In particular, he has stressed the role of citizen voice in strengthening democracy and promoting equality.

He is the author of Building Tomorrow Today, a study of the South African trade union movement and the implications of its growth for democracy, and the editor of The Long Journey and The Small Miracle (with Doreen Atkinson), which presented the outcome of two research projects on the South African transition. He is currently studying the role of citizen action in strengthening and sustaining democracy.

US under Trump Series

COVID-19 has blown away the myth about 'First' and 'Third' world competence

May 14, 2020 10:10 am UTC| Economy Politics

One of the planets and Africas deepest prejudices is being demolished by the way countries handle COVID-19. For as long as any of us remember, everyone knew that First World countries in effect, Western Europe and...

Shades of Brazil as anti-corruption drive in South Africa turns nasty

Nov 26, 2018 16:18 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

What better way to derail an anti-corruption campaign than to beat it at its own game? You might damage or derail democracy in the process, but that is the countrys problem, not yours. Anti-corruption campaigns are...

South Africa's ruling ANC can no longer count on union ally to win elections

Sep 30, 2018 22:15 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

South Africas governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), may have to fight next years general election without hundreds of thousands of votes which its trade union ally has delivered in the past. This isnt...

Emerging Market Crisis Series

The markets can stomach a captured Treasury but South Africa's poor will suffer

Apr 18, 2017 05:18 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The formal economy might find it a lot easier to live with a (partly) captured national treasury than many might imagine. This is bad news for people living in poverty who would then lack friends in high places to resist...

Economy

Russia Stocks End Flat at Three-Year Low as MOEX Index Stalls, Gold Prices Climb

Russian stocks closed mixed on Sunday, with the benchmark MOEX Russia Index finishing unchanged at 0.00% while remaining at its lowest level in three years. Despite the flat performance of the overall index, individual...

Goldman Sachs Raises USD/JPY Forecast, Sees Yen Weakness Persist Through 2027

Goldman Sachs has raised its USD/JPY exchange rate forecasts, predicting the Japanese yen will remain under pressure as elevated U.S. Treasury yields, limited recession risks in the United States, Japans fiscal concerns,...

Asian Currencies Rise as Dollar Weakens; Yen Holds Steady Amid Japan Intervention Watch

Most Asian currencies edged higher on Friday after the U.S. dollar retreated from a 13-month high following weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, raising fresh questions about the Federal Reserves interest rate...

Asian Stocks Rebound as Tech Shares Rally on Fed Rate Cut Hopes and Easing Iran Tensions

Asian stock markets rebounded sharply on Friday as investors returned to technology shares following a week of heavy selling, while easing geopolitical tensions and growing expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate...

Oil Prices Slip as Oversupply Concerns and U.S.-Iran Talks Shape Market Outlook

Oil prices edged lower on Friday as improving global crude supplies and expectations of near-term oversupply continued to pressure the market, while traders reduced bearish positions ahead of the U.S. holiday weekend....

Politics

Michigan Senate Race Narrows as Mallory McMorrow Ends Democratic Campaign

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow has suspended her Democratic campaign for the U.S. Senate, reshaping the partys primary contest into a two-candidate race in one of the countrys most closely watched battleground...

Burgum Defends Free Speech as Patriot Front July 4 March Sparks Debate

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the federal governments decision not to stop the Patriot Front march in Washington, D.C., saying the white supremacist groups July 4 demonstration was protected under the First...

FIFA Suspends Balogun Ban, Clears U.S. Striker for Belgium World Cup Clash

United States striker Folarin Balogun will be available for the U.S. mens national teams FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium after FIFA suspended the enforcement of his one-match ban following his red card...

Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of 702 Federal Regulations in Major Deregulation Push

The Trump administration is moving forward with one of its largest deregulation efforts, proposing to eliminate 702 federal regulations across multiple government agencies as part of its latest semiannual regulatory...

Iran Holds State Funeral for Ali Khamenei as Security Fears Shape Succession

Millions of Iranians gathered in Tehran on Saturday for the state funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, while authorities confirmed that his son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, would not lead funeral...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Meta Cloud Ambitions Could Challenge AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, Says Morgan Stanley

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is preparing to expand into the cloud computing market, a move that could position the company as a future rival to Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. According to...

Anthropic Tightens AI Access Controls After Reports of China-Based Workarounds

Anthropic is strengthening measures to prevent unauthorized access to its artificial intelligence services from China after discovering that several Chinese companies had allegedly bypassed its restrictions, according to a...

Kuaishou Stock Jumps as Kling AI Secures $2 Billion Funding Round

Hong Kong-listed shares of Kuaishou Technology (HK:1024) climbed more than 6% on Thursday after its spun-off artificial intelligence business, Kling AI, secured an initial $2 billion in venture capital funding to...

Meta CEO Zuckerberg Says AI Agent Development Has Slowed Despite Massive AI Investment

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged that the companys progress in developing artificial intelligence (AI) agents has been slower than expected, despite Metas aggressive investment in AI...

Kioxia Bets on AI Memory Boom With Next-Gen NAND Production in Japan

Kioxia is set to mark a major milestone on Friday with a ceremony at its manufacturing facility in northern Japan as the company prepares to begin mass production of its next-generation NAND flash memory chips. The move...