Talk Left, Walk Right

Talk Left, Walk Right
South Africa's Frustrated Global Reforms

by Patrick Bond

Is the South African government of Thabo Mbeki genuinely opposed to 'global apartheid' -misery for the masses in the South? Have reforms advocated by Pretoria failed- even within their own limited terms?

The content of Pretoria's rarely examined broader reform strategy is examined. Bond considers the dynamics of international political economy and geopolitics. He reviews a series of contemporary examples where Pretoria is frustrated by unfavourable power relations: US unilateralism and militarism, the UN's World Conference Against Racism and reparations for apartheid profits, soured trade deals, stingy debt relief and counterproductive international financial flows, unsuccessful reform of multilateral institutions, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and the World Water Forum.

230x 150mm 236pp, 3 tables, 9 figures, Notes, 40 cartoons.