Beyond the Apocalypse: Rethinking Capitalism, Democracy and Crisis in South Africa

WiSER, Innovation Foundation for Democracy and Alameda invite you to 

Beyond the Apocalypse: Rethinking Capitalism, Democracy and Crisis in South Africa

9 – 11 October 2024

Professor Achille Mbembe will deliver the keynote address on

‘Reflections on Thirty Years of Democracy"

5:30 for 6pm
WiSER Seminar room

6^th Floor, Richard Ward Building,

East Campus, Wits University

This keynote address forms part of the opening of a two day symposium

Click here for the full programme and details for how to RSVP  

Thirty years since the end of apartheid the public mood in South Africa is pessimistic. While the national elections pushed the country into unchartered waters, crime and corruption continue to dominate headlines, while opinion makers wring their hands about opportunities lost and paths not taken. But bemoaning the current state of the country does little to explain the complexities of South Africa and holds even less explanatory power for understanding how we got where we are today. While there has been much in the past thirty years that have been fraught, South Africa’s democracy has also been characterized by contradictory pulls and pressures, booms and busts across society. Does South Africa still symbolize a hopeful resolution to racial conflict or is South Africa simply a byword for corruption? Does South Africa mean inequality or is it the poster child for ‘African Development’? How should we understand the complexities and seeming contradictions that South Africa represents? This workshop brings together people from a range of different backgrounds – academics, activists, public intellectuals, practitioners – to take stock of thirty years of South African democracy and consider how to move beyond the apocalyptic narratives of South Africa’s imminent collapse.

All Welcome