South Africa and Zimbabwe – Limits to Change

Group of 78 Luncheon Speaker Series

Featuring:Linda Freeman

South Africa and Zimbabwe – Limits to Change (PDF)

Paper from Linda Freeman is now available to download!
* Please Note: This paper is for a festschrift collection, not for quotation or reproduction

$30 for luncheon and presentation (12:00 p.m.)

$5 for presentation only (arrive 12:45 p.m. Coffee and tea will be available)

 RESERVATIONS: Group78@group78.org  613-565-9449 ext. 22 by Friday, March 23, 2018 by 12:00 pm

Late registrations are welcome for presentation only.

Individuals who do not cancel their reservations at least 24 hours before the luncheon will be billed $30.

Online Registration

In the last months, events have produced a reconfiguration of forces in both Zimbabwe and South Africa.  In Zimbabwe, the 37-year old regime of Robert Mugabe came to an end, while in South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa emerged as a powerful alternative to Jacob Zuma.

What a difference a year has made or has it?

This talk will explore the origins and nature of change in these two southern African countries and assess its significance. Does the rise to power of an authoritarian political leader in Zimbabwe offer a glimpse of South Africa’s future?  Or will the different historical terrain and stronger institutions (the judiciary, the media, the political opposition and civil society) enable a positive alternative?  Above all, what prospects are there for democratic forces within each country to secure greater accountability from hitherto dominant forces – be they corporate or state, foreign or local?

 Linda Freeman

Linda Freeman is an emeritus professor in the Department of Political Science and the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University.  Her study The Ambiguous Champion – Canada and South Africa in the Trudeau and Mulroney Years won the Harold Adams Innis Prize for best book in the social sciences, written in English in 1998/9.  She specializes in African political economy, with a particular interest in southern Africa.  She is working on a manuscript on South African relations with Zimbabwe. She has testified regularly to parliamentary sub-committees and is a frequent commentator on African affairs for the Canadian media.