‘Now’, Ep. 5: Chris Alden and Maxi Schoeman on South Africa in International Relations

In this ‘Now’ podcast we explore the state of politics in South Africa and the continuing role of South Africa in international relations. South Africa has just gone through dramatic political change. First, Cyril Ramaphosa, long a member of the African National Congress (ANC), and a close colleague to Nelson Mandela, gained the presidency of the ANC. And then Ramaphosa and his colleagues were able to ‘ease out’ Jacob Zuma from the post of President of South Africa that Zuma has held for the last 9 years. The ANC will face national elections in 2019 with Cyril Ramaphosa likely as the President. In the face of these changes I invited two colleagues and friends from South Africa to explore the impact of these changes and assess the prospects for Ramaphosa and his Party. Chris Alden is a professor of international relations at the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. My other colleague is Maxi Schoeman. She was a professor and head of the political sciences department at the University of Pretoria and is currently the deputy director of postgraduate studies and ethics at the faculty of humanities at the University of Pretoria. Both have been deeply involved in researching and writing on the domestic and foreign policy of South Africa over the years. South Africa remains a critical actor on the African continent and is a member of the BRICS and the G20. Come listen to this ‘Now’ podcast.