Browsing by Author "Burgess, Meryl"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    African regional economic communities engagement with China
    (2014-09) Esterhuyse, Harrie Willie; Cisse, Daouda; Anthony, Ross; Burgess, Meryl
    The development of effective African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) stands to benefit African countries immensely. Transnational free trade regions, single customs unions, single markets, single currencies and other forms of political and economic integration have the potential to strengthen both inter-regional and international trade as well as creating more robust solutions to issues of food, climate, health and political security. Nevertheless, implementation has proved a formidable challenge: lack of adequate economic and political structures, institutions and policies has impeded progress. The ability to strengthen many aspects of RECs are up to member states: agreeing on a set of political and socio-economic strategic priorities at the core of regional integration, implementing mechanisms for cooperation and integration as well as ensuring compliance are all challenges which need to be negotiated internally. A crucial aspect is formulating coherent policy on how to engage with external actors. Along with the European Union and the United States of America, China is now an undeniably influential actor with regards to all African RECs. With a co-ordinated China policy, RECs can effectively foster regional integration through both increased trade capacity and infrastructural development. This policy brief focuses on three RECs - SADC (Southern African Development Community); ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and the EAC (East African community) – as illustration of how Chinese investment has been harnessed.
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    Assessing China’s role in foreign direct investment in Southern Africa
    (Centre for Chinese Studies, Stellenbosch University, 2011-03) Van Der Lugt, Sanne; Hamblin, Victoria; Burgess, Meryl; Schickerling, Elizabeth; Oxfam, Hong Kong
    Popular claims link the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) almost automatically to economic development. This notion increased in prominence with the rise of neo-liberal thinking in the 1980s. It was also fuelled by the success of the so-called Asian Tigers achieving high growth rates, coupled with poverty reduction through an outward market-policy orientation. This study explores FDI in Southern Africa and Zambia specifically, based on the analysis of policy documents and interviews with a small sample of twelve Chinese and African government officials, CSO representatives as well as private sector representatives.
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    The challenge in conservation of biodiversity : regulation of National Parks in China and South Africa in comparison
    (Stellenbosch University. Centre for Chinese Studies, 2012-05) Burgess, Meryl
    Due to the increasing depletion and extinction of the world’s biodiversity, it has become a vital process among the global community to protect the environment and safeguard natural habitats and thousands of species. In developing countries like China and South Africa, factors like the growth and development of urban and rural spaces, industrialisation, high population growth and agriculture activities have added extra pressures to the countries’ biodiversity and natural environment. For this reason, there has been an increase in the number of protected areas established, especially national parks, that are firstly established to protect biodiversity and secondly, established for education and recreation. China, known as one of the “17 megadiverse” countries in the world, is home to a large percentage of the world’s biodiversity. Due to factors such as development, industrialisation as well as a high population growth in recent decades, much of the country’s biodiversity has been harmed or threatened. Similar to China, South Africa has some of the richest biodiversity in the world, also threatened by both natural causes and human-made factors. For this reason, protected areas such as nature reserves, botanical gardens, scenic landscapes, historical areas and national parks have increasingly been established. Although China has an established nature reserve system as well as regulation thereof, the national park system in China is in its early developing phase, with national parks only having been established in one province. South Africa on the other hand has an older and established national park system, with 22 national parks regulated and managed around the country by SANParks as well as the Department of Environmental Affairs. Because national parks are considered public spaces, they have been regulated, in order to properly protect and manage the parks and the species within them. This study looks at the way China and South Africa have attempted to regulate and manage national parks. Regulation and management of parks are important as parks need to uphold the laws and policy on biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. This study thus looks at how national parks have come to do this in two countries with very rich biodiversity, high tourist numbers and development taking place, in some instances at a rapid pace.
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    A comparative study of the role of environmental NGO's in China and South Africa in conservation policy
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Burgess, Meryl; Cornelissen, Scarlett; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the roles of environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in conservation policy in two different political systems, one authoritarian (China) and the other a pluralist political system (South Africa). The study takes stock of the broader literature and debates on governance, participation and new institutional arrangements whereby private actors and civil society can have input into policy-making. Based on this, the study demonstrates that civil society and NGOs can fulfil various roles and undertake numerous functions in order to have an impact on the policy process. These roles can be categorised as essentially three: (1) In the supplementary model, NGOs fulfil the demand for public goods not satisfied by government; (2) In the complementary view, NGOs partner with government; they help with the delivery of public goods which are largely financed by the government; (3) In the adversarial view, NGOs prod government to make changes in public policy and to maintain public accountability (Young, 2000). A number of factors can determine the potential for NGOs to participate in policy-making and further influence the process when operating in terms of these roles. These factors include the size of the NGO‘s membership; cohesiveness, skill and social status; as well its financial and other resources. Similarly, the attitudes of public officials towards the NGO as well as the site of decision-making in the political system can also factor into NGO engagement in policy-making. The political system impacts on these factors, but does not as such preclude any of the three listed roles for environmental NGOs. This study shows that, in the field of conservation policy-making, environmental NGOs in both South Africa and China play all three roles in the political systems, as described in literature. It emerges that NGOs are active as playing roles supplementary and complementary to those of the state, and – somewhat contrary to expectations – also an adversarial role. South Africa‘s policy process is open to public participation at all levels of government. Formal and informal institutional arrangements are accessible for NGOs to play a role in policy-making. China‘s policy process on the other hand has few formal institutional arrangements for public participation; hence NGOs have limited roles to play in policy-making. Consequently, most NGOs in China use informal arrangements to participate in policy-making. In addition, this study shows that South African environmental NGOs contribute to fulfilling democratic ideals by performing all three roles, specifically challenging and holding government accountable. However, most NGOs in fact prefer to carry out mainly the complementary and supplementary roles, but are prepared to hold government accountable where and when this is necessary. In contrast, China‘s environmental NGOs are not attempting to contribute towards maintaining authoritarian settings but are forced to play a more narrowly defined role. NGOs are forced to fulfil roles and functions within the system‗s limitations and the government's control.
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    FOCAC : addressing joint environmental challenges?
    (Stellenbosch University. Centre for Chinese Studies, 2012-05) Burgess, Meryl; Esterhuyse, Harrie
    Cooperation on environmental challenges has been an instrumental part of the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) since its inception in 2000. With increasing levels of economic interactions and political cooperation, environmental concerns have become increasingly important. This policy brief examines the state of environmental cooperation in FOCAC in the light of emerging challenges. It specifically explores issues related to biodiversity, the challenge of combatting desertification and the need to address water scarcity in both China and Africa. All three of these issues are having adverse effects on development prospects, not least on food security. A cross-cutting dimension to consider for the discussion of future challenges is the effect of climate change. From the assessment of common or different challenges, this briefing makes suggestions for future topics in China-Africa relations.
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    Preparing for FOCAC VI: China-South Africa co-operation in conservation and renewable energy
    (2015-08) Burgess, Meryl; Esterhuyse, Harrie
    As China’s development puts increasing pressure on the environment, various measures have been implemented both domestically and, increasingly, abroad in an attempt to limit the impact. China’s environmental engagement at an international level, including the agreement between the United States (US) President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping to cut carbon emissions (12 November 2014), signals the growing urgency of the issue. Within the context of the China-South Africa engagement, there are also signs of this shift. Two key areas where this is evident are in China’s growing role in conservation and the renewable energy sector. China’s domestic demand for wildlife goods has motivated the Chinese government to sign a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with African governments. In the renewable energy sector again, Africa’s energy needs and untapped capacity for electricity generation from renewable energy (RE) has created a vast potential market for global Chinese renewable energy firms. Both areas have become increasingly important topics within China-Africa relations, and feature on the Forum of China Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) agenda. This policy brief examines the role of these two themes as a way of demonstrating some of the concrete ways in which China-Africa interaction is evolving in a world where sustainable development has become key.
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    Raising the bar on sustainable development : renewable energy and environmental standards in FOCAC VI
    (2015-11) Esterhuyse, Harrie; Burgess, Meryl; Centre for Chinese Studies. Policy Briefing
    The 6th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is taking place at a time when Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are high on most international development agendas. Two important aspects of this agenda include environmental protection and the promotion of renewable energy. This policy briefing examines the promotion of renewable energy and the importance of environmental standards in Africa, within the China-Africa relationship.
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    The sport for development legacies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011-12) Burgess, Meryl; Cornelissen, Scarlett; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the last decade, a significant trend could be observed with regards to the growth of the number of sport for development initiatives globally, as well as the increasing range of stakeholders involved in the sport for development field. Many international organisations and institutions began to put more emphasis on the use of sport and sport activities to initiate social change. This was further observed with the growing trends in sport for development activities within the Global South. In order to explore the impacts of the trends in sport for development, this study examined the recent sport for development trends in South Africa and in what way the 2010 FIFA World Cup has affected it. This study attempts to do this by exploring the historical underpinnings of sport for development in South Africa, as well as current trends in the field. The study further examines the sport for development initiatives that have been implemented during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and explores their ramifications for the sport for development landscape in South Africa. With its assessment of the sport for development legacies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, this study builds on the existing international literature by an increasing number of scholars assessing the trends in sport for development as well as evaluating the effectiveness of the field for promoting development. Moreover, due to the recent increase in developing countries in the Global South hosting sport mega-events, with a purpose to achieve social development objectives through the event (for example, South Africa and the 2010 World Cup), this study builds on literature examining a potential link between sport mega-events and sport for development. As a point of departure this study looked to provide an overview of the sport for development field, the recent debates raised among scholars as well as a theoretical framework informing the field. The study then looked towards the historical underpinnings of sport for development in South Africa, creating a framework for the analysis of the empirical study regarding the sport for development initiatives implemented during the World Cup. The main findings of this study included the rapid growth of sport for development initiatives during the World Cup period, the increase and range in public and private actors forming institutional arrangements and partnerships in sport for development initiatives and the outcomes and implications of those trends for the South African sport for development context. Through the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it was found that the sport mega-event was ultimately used as a strategic opportunity for initiatives to achieve objectives and aims including the creation of awareness of initiatives, potentially meeting new partners and funders, and increasing participant numbers. Moreover, through the formation of institutional arrangements and partnerships, implementing organisations could potentially ensure sustainability of the initiative due to the resources made available by the range of partners involved. It must be noted however, that although the 2010 FIFA World Cup was used strategically by the sport for development initiatives implemented during that period, sport mega-events cannot be said to achieve social development objectives, especially those of sport for development, due to the many neoliberal tendencies that is found in the hosting of the event.