Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

Politics and policy in this country is obsessed with the West - even those who hate it still see it as the centre of the universe. One sign is that democracy is always seen as Western, by those who oppose it as well as those who support it. But this belief is collapsing before our eyes as what is left of democracy is gutted in the US and more Western countries turn to far-right parties who have no interest in human rights. Democracy's future lies outside the West but thinking in this country has not caught up with this.    

This is the view of my weekly Against the Tide column sent to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, visit the Against the Tide website. To discuss a free or reduced subscription, contact info@againstthetide.co.za

Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.