Includes bibliographical references. / There is little doubt that traditional leaders continue to make an indelible mark on the practice of politics across the continent of Africa. In democratising South Africa, the relevance of this institution is debated extensively. In the main, traditional leaders are described as the embodiment of patriarchy, comprised of unelected male representatives who rule with "clenched fist" on an unwilling populous (Mamdani, 1996:23). It is argued that traditional authorities "...can only secure legitimacy by drawing its sustenance from the modern state, working as a complement to democratic local government" (Southall and Kropiwnicki, 2003:76). In light of these assertions, this thesis answers two questions: do traditional leaders have a role to play in democratising South Africa?

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-112). / In July 2009, following the issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the African Union (AU) passed a declaration of non-cooperation with the ICC. While all of the other cases in which the ICC had been involved also were located on the African continent, the AU's declaration was the first time any collective of African nations expressed significant dissatisfaction with the ICC. This thesis examinens the reasons the AU reacted so publicly and strongly to the ICC's pursuit of Bashir (and not to the cases already on the ICC's docket).

This thesis seeks to examine the interplay between business and human rights within the context of political transitions from authoritarian to democratic rule. In the wake of the globalisation process and the subsequent breakdown of the Westphalian state system, transnational corporations (TNCs) have acquired augmented powers at a global level where previously states had been the only players; and yet TNCs have none of the human rights obligations of states, particularly under international law. This dissertation aims to examine why this accountability lacuna exists in relation to corporations, specifically in relation to state-sponsored human rights violations in which TNCs are complicit.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-106). / The topic of this Masters mini-dissertation is amnesty and the principle of individual accountability for gross human rights violations. The field in which this topic is located is that of transitional justice. The issue with which this mini-dissertation is concerned is the practical, political and moral problems which states in transition from authoritarian regimes to newly established democratic government based on human rights have experienced in the last three decades when seeking accountability for the past atrocities. These state transitions have significantly employed amnesty as a means to address the need for peace and stability at the end of conflict, but this has tended to foreclose the possibility of holding the previous regime accountable for its legacy of human rights abuse. The historical context of this enquiry is the the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (IMT) in Germany 1945 1946, which established a precedent for individual criminal accountability for crimes against humanity. The Nuremberg precedent fundamentally assumed that individuals at every level of the authorisation of crime are accountable for their own actions. Since the Milgram experiment on obedience to orders in the 1960s, social science experiments have shown, however, that individuals acting under orders do not perceive of their moral autonomy as clearly as previously assumed. In the light of the historical transitions since Nuremberg, the recent innovation in the South African Constitution in 1995, which introduces the notion of conditional amnesty, represents a novel attempt to hold individuals accountable. It required individual acknowledgement and full disclosure in public of the responsibility for heinous deeds. This framework also grants amnesty for gross human rights violations committed in the execution of an order of, on behalf of or with the approval of a political organisation. Few commentators have addressed the question of whether such conditional amnesty may be compatible with the Nuremberg model of accountability. The specific task which this mini-dissertation sets out is, therefore, to 1) clarify the concept of accountability, 2) determine in which senses one may hold individuals accountable for their actions, and 3) assess whether, to what extent and how the South African amnesty may achieve the accountability required by a liberal-democratic framework which upholds the moral principle that individuals are responsible for their actions.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-98). / Truth commissions are implemented in order to "deal with the past" in the context of a transition in government from authoritarian to democratic rule. At the center of a truth commission is a truth process that attempts to establish the experience of gross human rights abuse at the hands of the state, and does so in a way which places the victims of such abuse at the center of the process, through valuing victim testimony as "truth." It is done with the assumption in mind, that in order for a society, or community, to have healthy relations in the future, violent past experiences must be faced and dealt with. Communities at a local level have imitated the structure, goals and procedures of truth commissions in projects that have been termed "Unofficial Truth Projects." This thesis compares three case studies of unofficial truth projects which have taken place in the Southern United States in the past few years: The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Greensboro, North Carolina, which sought to establish a community reconciliation process 25 years after what has come to be known as the "Greensboro Massacre"; and two civil-society based truth processes, the Katrina National Justice Commission and the International Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which seek to establish truth and gain reparations for human rights abuses which have taken place in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The author considers various projects in a comparative manner, and through examining their histories, structures and ideological make-up, analyzes the processes in terms how these factors affect the ability for the project to: gain legitimacy as a truth process, generate resources and support, acknowledge victims' experiences, and engage the community in reconciliation efforts. The author also echoes the calls for a shift in paradigm in reconciliation and transitional justice literature, which would allow for a space to exist for truth processes that may be unofficial and fall outside a context of a formal transition. Such processes could still greatly benefit communities living in post-conflict contexts and with histories of racial and political violence, such as many communities in the Southern United States.

This study explores the longitudinal reintegration of girls involved in the post-independence war in Mozambique using in-depth qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews, and a wide range of documents. Piecing together the narratives of over 70 informants, the dissertation chronicles the way in which the war and the post-conflict environment, and to a lesser extent, the historical cultural milieu, have contributed to these women’s current realities.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis is concerned with the construction of belonging in contemporary South Africa and how it is reproduced, challenged and negotiated within the social action of language. This is explored by investigating the situated meanings individuals assign to events, places, institutions and people in relation to their experiences of belonging and exclusion. Poststructuralism, phenomenology and social constructionism shape the theoretical framework of this study. Multi-disciplinary discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis are used to explore how the construct- ion of belonging [is] reflected and produced in everyday language. The texts analyzed in this study are the product of five focus group discussions with 23 residents of Cape Town. The texts are read for how individuals’ lived experiences, memories and imaginations inform the process of constructing belonging.

Word processed copy. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-110).

The advancement of African languages following South Africa’s transition to a constitutional democracy was important not only for societal transformation but also to enable previously disadvantaged South Africans proper access to education. In order to achieve this end policies had to be developed by government and by the institutions involved. In this dissertation I provide an analysis of the language policies developed by four South African universities1 (the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Cape Town, Rhodes University and North- West University) in order to provide insight into, and a critique of, how the role of African languages in education and in societal transformation is interpreted and implemented. The analysis of the language policies is preceded by an overview of the link between conflict and language in South Africa and a discussion on the manner in which the post-conflict South African state has attempted use language as a key player in transformation, particularly with regard to education. The dissertation draws on data collected from the policies to qualitatively determine a number of issues relating to transformation, being: the rationale for becoming a multilingual university; their choice for their languages of instruction; how universities try to achieve academic development through language interventions; how they attempt to develop their staff and students; and how actual implementation is achieved or projected.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / Security governance is a salient topic within South Africa, both in public media, discourse and academic literature. Currently, South African government holds a domineering mentality towards security and wishes to monopolize it. Nonetheless, there is a growing call for private security, both by citizens and the business sector in South Africa. Furthermore, private security is a polemic issue with debates around its effects on public good as well as its role within society. This dissertation underlines and addresses these issues. In order to accomplish this, an ethnographic field study was conducted to uncover the situation and the forms and issues that revolve around private security on a ground level, breaking away from the academic cacophony that has saturated the field.