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.
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...
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...
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