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Roger Southall

Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand

Roger Southall is an Emeritus Professor in Sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand. He was previously Distinguished Research Fellow at the Human Sciences Research Council (2001-2007) and Professor of Political Studies at Rhodes University (1989-2001). Prior to that he worked in universities in Uganda, Lesotho, Canada and the UK. He is author of South Africa's Transkei: The Political Economy of an 'Independent' Bantustan (1983), Imperialism or Solidarity? International Labour and South African Trade Unions (1995), Liberation Movements in Power: Party and State in Southern Affrica (2013) and The New Black Middle Class in South Africa (2016). He has also published extensively on African politics, political economy and labour in leading academic journals, as well as contributing chapters to numerous books. He receives research funding from the National Research Foundation.

What is RET and what does it want? The Radical Economic Transformation faction in South Africa explained

Dec 08, 2022 10:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

It has been standard for some years, in any analysis of South Africas governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), to refer to the radical economic transformation (RET) faction. Yet, there has been little serious...

South Africa is in a state of drift: the danger is that the ANC turns the way of Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF

Feb 02, 2022 08:48 am UTC| Politics

The dismal fate of Zimbabwe under the stewardship of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) government has long stood out as a warning to South Africas governing party, the African National Congress...

Why South Africa's white leaders shouldn't get into comparative politics of sin

Feb 22, 2020 00:25 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

FW De Klerk, South Africas last apartheid-era president, and his foundation, have learnt the hard way the dangers of the comparative politics of sin. He recently gave an interview to mark his historic speech to parliament...

Events in Lesotho point to poor prospects for political stability

Jan 28, 2020 08:32 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

In 2017 the estranged wife of Lesothos prime minister Tom Thabane was shot dead in suspicious circumstances two days ahead of his inauguration. Now theres a new twist in the saga: on 11 January authorities issued an arrest...

A centrist political alliance in South Africa? Yes, but hard to get

Oct 20, 2019 10:21 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Is there the possibility that political centrists in South Africas governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), and its main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), could merge? The question arises...

South Africa's 2019 poll showed dangerous signs of 'insiders' and 'outsiders'

Aug 15, 2019 17:38 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The general election in South Africa in May conveyed mixed messages: one was that democracy is maturing, the other that it is failing. The good news was that this was very clearly an outcome of a discerning electorate...

A democracy or a kleptocracy? How South Africa stacks up

Feb 10, 2019 10:53 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

South Africans have been held spellbound by the torrent of evidence of corruption emerging from two parallel commissions of inquiry into state capture, and the fitness to hold office of two senior officials of the...

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Economy

Oil Prices Dip Amid Tariff Concerns, Rising Inventories, and OPEC+ Output Worries

Oil prices slipped in early Asian trading Wednesday, pressured by renewed concerns over global economic growth and fuel demand due to U.S. tariff policies and rising crude inventories. Brent crude futures fell 17 cents, or...

U.S. Stock Futures Dip as Investors Monitor Trade Developments, Earnings, and Key Data

U.S. stock futures slipped Tuesday evening as investors digested signs of easing trade tensions, soft economic data, and awaited major corporate earnings. SP 500 futures fell 0.2% to 5,571.75, while Nasdaq 100 futures...

India Eyes Swift U.S. Trade Deal with Rare Forward MFN Clause

India is accelerating trade talks with the U.S., offering significant concessions to secure a fast-track deal ahead of President Donald Trumps proposed 26% reciprocal tariff deadline in July. According to Indian government...

Sweden’s Q1 2025 GDP Stalls, Missing Growth Forecasts

Swedens economy stagnated in the first quarter of 2025, with gross domestic product (GDP) showing no growth compared to the previous three months, according to preliminary data from the Statistics Office released Tuesday....

Australia's Wine Export Surge to China Loses Steam Amid Global Decline

Australias wine export boom to China is losing momentum, as global wine consumption falls and Chinese demand weakens. Following Beijings removal of tariffs on March 29, 2024, Australia exported just over A$1 billion ($640...

Politics

Syria Seeks U.S. Sanctions Relief Amid Historic Diplomatic Talks in New York

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani held talks with senior U.S. State Department officials in New York on Tuesday, marking a significant diplomatic engagement as Syria pushes for permanent sanctions relief. The...

DOJ Halts $811M in Grants Linked to Trump Priorities, Sparks Backlash

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently terminated over $811 million in grants, including funding aligned with President Donald Trumps law enforcement and victim support initiatives. The cuts were reportedly...

Trump Faces Lawsuit Over AmeriCorps Cuts by 24 Democratic States

Twenty-four Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia have filed a federal lawsuit in Baltimore, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully dismantling AmeriCorps, the national service agency that supports...

Paramount Board Considers Settlement Terms in Trump’s $20B CBS Lawsuit

Paramount Global, parent company of CBS News, has outlined potential financial terms for a settlement in the ongoing $20 billion lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to The New York Times. The lawsuit...

Trump Criticizes Fed Chair Powell, Claims Superior Knowledge on Interest Rates

U.S. President Donald Trump reignited his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a rally in Warren, Michigan, on Tuesday. Trump, without naming Powell directly, suggested he knew more about interest rates...

Science

Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold plan to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Kennedy declared a global...

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see museum collections are filled with all this and more....

Technology

Amazon Enters Satellite Internet Race with First Kuiper Deployment

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has officially entered the satellite broadband market with the successful launch of 27 operational satellites for Project Kuiper, its high-speed internet initiative aimed at rivaling SpaceXs Starlink....

Chinese AI App DeepSeek Resumes Downloads in South Korea After Privacy Update

Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek has resumed availability in South Koreas app stores after a two-month suspension due to data protection concerns. Downloads were halted in February when South Koreas Personal...

Nvidia Shares Dip as Huawei Tests Rival AI Chip

Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) slipped in after-hours trading on Sunday, following reports that Chinas Huawei is testing a powerful artificial intelligence chip aimed at challenging Nvidias dominance. NVDA shares fell...

Huawei Challenges Nvidia with New Ascend 910D AI Chip Amid U.S. Export Curbs

Huawei Technologies is preparing to launch its most advanced artificial intelligence processor yet, the Ascend 910D, aiming to compete with Nvidias high-end chips, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Sample batches...

China Accelerates AI Self-Reliance Amid Nvidia H20 Chip Ban

The U.S. move to tighten export controls on Nvidias H20 chips is adding pressure to Chinas AI sector, but immediate disruption appears limited as domestic firms rapidly pivot to local alternatives. Analysts at Bernstein...