‘There’s a distinction to be made between a failing state and a failing government – the South African government is failing to deliver the services that we as the public expect, but the state remains a relatively vibrant institution’ – Danny Bradlow, Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations at UP.

“A dream under fire: Is South Africa a failing state?” This was the question panellists sought to answer during the latest instalment of the LeadUP: Alumni Thought Leadership Conversations, hosted by the University of Pretoria (UP) Alumni Office. Professor Sandy Africa, Deputy Dean of Teaching and Learning in UP’s Faculty of Humanities and past Chair of the Expert Panel on the July 2021 Civil Unrest; Danny Bradlow, Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations at UP, and Dondo Mogajane, former Director-General of the National Treasury, engaged in lively conversation with journalist and strategic communications practitioner, Sebenzile Nkambule.

Remarking on the complexity and magnitude of the topic, Prof Africa urged for the concepts involved to be unpacked before diving into the debate.

“As a political scientist, when I hear the term “failed state” my mind goes back to the context in which this labelling arose, which was after the fall of communism and the imposition, really, of a single model of what the rest of the world should look like. When states appear to not be conforming to this model, there tends to be a labelling of the state as one which is starting to fail,” she said.

“We live in an international context where states do have certain responsibilities to meet the needs of the people they are meant to serve, so the question of whether they are failing or not is valid, but it is very important to frame it in a particular way. I think issues of whether the state is adequately represented, whether it enjoys legitimacy and authority, and whether it is responsive are some of the indicators that we can use as an assessment of whether the state is ‘failing’ or not,” Prof Africa said.

Mogajane agreed that words need to be used carefully, saying that “failed” and “failing” evokes a sense of hopelessness and despair.

“When the state machinery ceases to take its citizens seriously, and when politicians see themselves as “on a high horse” able to trample the poor beneath them, that’s a sign of a failing state, because it means that we have forgotten what the state as an institution should be,” he said.

“South Africa is not a failed state, because our basic functions of education, health, legislature and so forth are all in place. But there are warning signs, for example in instances where resources exist and budgets are allocated, but no one is doing the work in terms of the provision of services. If we don’t heed those signs, we are going to end up failing, and citizens will begin to rise up,” Mogajane said.

Prof Bradlow agreed that South Africa is not a failing state, and that the country has strengths which should be recognised.

“Our elections are still viewed as legitimate in terms of the process; we enjoy freedom of speech; our universities function well. There’s a distinction to be made between a failing state and a failing government – the South African government is failing to deliver the services that we as the public expect, but the state remains a relatively vibrant institution,” he said.

Just as the government is facing challenges in terms of delivery, Prof Bradlow said, so too are business, labour and other sectors of society. He noted that other developing countries similar to South Africa have the same problems, although this is in no means a justification for their existence.

The panel also discussed the uprisings in KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021, which left 350 people dead and cost the economy over R50 billion. These riots erupted after former president Jacob Zuma was imprisoned for contempt of court and had a devastating impact on lives and livelihoods. According to the panellists, the unrest indicated that the state clearly did not have a monopoly on force, which is necessary in order to protect citizens.

“People were already living in such a vulnerable state of existence, and on top of poverty and unemployment and all the degradations that they suffer, there was the COVID-19 pandemic, and it took just one incident or a set of circumstances to trigger the violence,” said Prof Africa.

“This was a lesson for us on just how fractured our society is, and that, without ratcheted development and a different type of political culture taking root, we could tip into a sphere of conflict where the state will not be able to successfully intervene. We do however have the foresight to step away and find an alternative path so that catastrophic consequences are avoided,” she said.