Thesis (M.A. (International Politics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / The foreign policy of the Republic of China (PRC) has been a considerable subject for debate in the past two decades. This is because China has turned its attention towards Africa, seen with the establishment of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the early 2000s. Another reason for this debate is found in the fact that after FOCAC’s initiation, China has managed to become the largest trade partner of the African continent and the second biggest economy in the past two decades. Generally, China-Africa relations are largely a by-product of economic and political orientations. In the context of the above, this study uses a case study design to critique the foreign policy of China towards Africa. This case study design uses Zambia as a test case to critique the post-2010 Chinese foreign policy towards Africa. This is done by constructing and analysing China’s Africa policy and subsequently, locating China’s International relations with Zambia. To a great extent, this study imparts historical sensibility as it locates China’s international relations with Zambia from as far as during the colonial period. The consideration of historicity in this study draws fundamentally from the fact that the past always provides a resonate basis for comprehending the present and the future. In this study, the researcher advocate for the utility of Afrocentricity as a substitute theoretical framework important in apprehending China’s foreign policy towards Africa. The adoption and utility of this paradigm in this study are informed highly by its ability in spotlighting and highlighting the Asian tiger (China)’s international relations with Zambia. It is believed in this study that a profound comprehension of China’s Zambia policy can be realised when such interpretations and analysis are deeply found in the continental context of the African continent. Equally important are the objectives of this study which were realised, methodologically, through the use of document review. In consideration of the case study of Zambia, It is important to highlight that China ground-roots its engagement with Zambia on several factors of which the leading are: investment, international legitimacy and market drive. To add, Zambia’s stable political and economic environments continue to play a key role in the two countries' interrelations. This is so, even though some of the Chinese companies operating in Zambia are still unfamiliar with the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Overall, the concept of CSR should be in the leading front when it comes to the operations of Chinese companies in Zambia’s economic stakeholders.

Thesis (M. A. (International Politics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / South Africa’s foreign policy towards the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, particularly during Thabo Mbeki’s tenure, has received substantial scholarly attention. Similarly, South Africa’s domestic political arena has been a subject of significant scholarly inquiry during Jacob Zuma’s tenure. Understandably, when one considers the domestic scandals that clouded Zuma’s presidency, the foreign policy of the Zuma administration, specifically towards the SADC region, has received underwhelming scholarly attention. Therefore, the present study is a contribution to the limited available studies on the Zuma administration’s foreign policy towards the SADC region. Noting the importance of the DRC in SADC region international relations, the DRC is used as a case study. The DRC’s experience of a seemingly ceaseless or recurrent conflict makes it a suitable case for the assessment of the Zuma administration’s foreign policy. This is because it would be difficult for a South Africa that is largely viewed as the SADC region’s regional leader to remain indifferent while a fellow SADC member state experiences continuous instability. To achieve its objectives, the study employed document review as a data collection method. The study found that South Africa under Zuma prioritised economic diplomacy. As such, it actively participated in the neutralisation, through military means, of rebel groups in the DRC. It would not be farfetched to submit that this was an attempt to create an environment that is more conducive to economic activity in the DRC so as to improve economic relations between the two countries. Keywords: South Africa, SADC, Foreign Policy, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zuma, Afrocentricity, Southern Africa.

This study investigates the representation of post-apartheid discourses and decolonial messages of The Thinker magazine. It further examines how the magazine in question confronts and negotiates the aftermath of apartheid and coloniality. Particularly, the nature of these discourses and narratives in the context of a new dispensation in South Africa. South Africa experienced the brunt of apartheid and it is currently still grappling with the condition of coloniality. The latter manifests itself into the dimensions of power, knowledge and being. For this reason, a de-linking option from coloniality and apartheid becomes imperative if a new consciousness, liberatory trajectory and social justice are to be attained. Accordingly, the study sought to determine whether African Renaissance could be used as a de-linking tool/option. Taking into account The Thinker‘s messages from the year 2010 to 2016, the study examines whether the magazine promotes a decolonisation narrative. The study sought to provide a contribution to knowledge insofar as discourses of decoloniality and social justice in South Africa are concerned. The study employs a cultural studies lens, in particular, the principle of radical contextualism and Steward Hall’s model of articulation. Cultural studies was used because of its transdisciplinary/interdisciplinary and flexible approach to social phenomenon under study. A mixed-methods approach in the form of a sequential transformative design was employed, however, the qualitative aspect (thematic analysis) was prioritised as dictated by the research question and objectives. It was proven in this study that quantitative elements can be applied successfully within a decolonial inquiry. Hence, the methodological contribution of the study in that regard. The study found that The Thinker highlights the continuation of the atrocities of coloniality and apartheid in post-apartheid South Africa. It is thus suggested by the text that a decolonial trajectory and thinking is needed given the aftermath of apartheid and the condition of coloniality. Furthermore, African Renaissance can be used to reaffirm and repudiate the dominant discourses of coloniality and apartheid if employed authentically by its proponents. However, the text points out the challenges that may hinder the processes of decolonization and liberation such as the self-serving and corrupt leadership that perpetuate the status quo at the expense of the interests of the people. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

Thesis (M. A. (International Politics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The relations between France and South Africa dates to +-330 years ago but the year that France renounced its diplomatic collaboration with South Africa was in 1981. Then in 1994 following the new democratic dispensation in South Africa, France started normalising its diplomatic relations with the new government. By the end of 1994 South Africa had France as its 14th biggest trading partner with a total trade of R3712 millions. Moving from that, the central question grappled within this research is that is the relations between France and South Africa a win-win or win-lose one? This research argues that is it a win-lose as France is the one that continues to benefit more compared to South Africa on various partnership which will be discussed further in the research. With regards to the theoretical framework, Afrocentricity was deemed suited as it gives Africans the platform to view issues through African experiences and perspective. The latter should also be understood within the context that a lot of literature on the topic at hand has been written using Eurocentric perceptive thus this research utilised Afrocentricity. Methodologically, this research will be solely relaying on secondary materials such as journal articles, newspapers as well as policy briefs and reports.

Michael Tillotson’s Agency Reduction Formation theory is designed to expose, situate, and explain ideological trends that are intended to compel African people to distance themselves from their collective identity (Tillotson 2011, 62). Identity provides African people the internal construction to seek self-determination that allows them to strive for agency, the ability to provide the psychological and cultural resources necessary for the advancement of human freedom (Asante 2007, 40-41). In this study, I have added an agential location dimension to the discourse of “identity names” utilizing Afrocentric analysis to interrogate whether those specific “identity names” position African people toward victorious consciousness, an attitude which reflects a commitment to Africana history, values, and culture. In addition to exploring why it is problematic for African people to identify with terms such as “Nigga”, “Bad Bitch”, “Savage” and “Trap Queen” given the controversy sustained by their overuse as racial epithets and radical forms of misnaming, I also address how such “identity words” are aggressive forms of Agency Reduction Formation. To demonstrate how the use of the previously mentioned “identity words” is an agency reducing activity, I analyzed the words and photographs of African men and women featured on the social networking platform Instagram. Through content analysis, I claimed that African people identifying particularly as a “Nigga”, “Bad Bitch”, “Savage” and “Trap Queen” within their profiles and posts create an environment for dis-empowerment, identity dislocation, and internalized oppression. If tendencies to use these “agency reducing identity words” continues in this manner, African people will experience ongoing cultural dislocation that diminishes their “need for a collective agency that fights against oppression.” / African American Studies

This paper presents a synthesis of the literature related to cultural identity and college student development among African Americans in higher education. Racial and cultural identities for African American college students are an integral part of their student development and have been connected to a variety of positive outcomes such as succeeding in college. Currently, traditional student development models and theories, once considered applicable to all students, are being challenged on the grounds that they are not culturally sensitive. Furthermore, the diversification of the philosophical foundation of higher education is also being challenged on the grounds that its foundation is also based in one dominant worldview. Subsequently, the classical student development literature as well as the philosophical foundation of higher education is being disputed on the grounds that its theories have been generalized to all student populations from samples that were predominantly White, male, and middle class. The guiding question of this work seeks to uncover if an African American college student's racial identity can truly be accommodated and achieved at a university which utilizes college student development models based solely in a European framework. Both Eurocentric and Afrocentric models are discussed and suggestions on how to integrate Afrocentric worldviews into higher education are made. / Urban Education

This study pursues the quest and struggle for total liberation in post-independence Shona poetry. The study also relies on views of key respondents obtained through interviews and questionnaires. Couched and guided by Afrocentricity and Africana womanism, the study elucidates the politico-economic and socio-cultural factors that militate against Africa’s total liberation in general as well as women’s liberation, respectively. Simultaneously, critical judgments are passed on the extent to which poets immerse their art in African existential philosophy. The study is energized by the idea that pursuing the quest for authentic liberation provides a lens through which one can understand threats to Africa’s true liberation. It observes that poets and key informants largely attribute ersartz independence to internal problems. The researcher holds that it is problematic to hold a domesticated vision of the African condition to the extent that poets and other literary workers need to widen their canvas beyond fighting internal oppression and internationalise the struggle. The researcher argues that it is myopic and self-defeating to protest against Africa itself without giving adequate attention to the incapacitating hegemonic world system. Therefore, the poetry is lacking on its critique on domination. The centerpiece of the thesis is that in order to be purposeful and functional, poets need to grapple with both endogenous and exogenous factors that obstruct the march towards genuine liberation. The study also observes that in some instances poets produce cheap literature which is marked by a narrow and moralistic approach and this is attributable to the fact that poets lack a scientific vision in understanding reality. Concerning women’s authentic liberation, the commonly identified obstacles to women’s freedom are the male counterpart, self-depreciation, lack of education and culture. The study observes that women poets in Ngatisimuke (1994) and key respondents seem to approach gender relations from a feminist perspective and hence fail to situate women’s condition in the context of the history and culture that shape African gender relations. Women poets in Ngatisimuke fall short of internationalising their struggle in concert with the male counterpart such that their poetry degenerates into sponsored and misguided activism. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

In recent years, there has been a significant amount of new attention to white dominance and privilege (or whiteness) as the often unmarked inverse of racial oppression. This interest has spawned the academic domain called Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS). While the critical investigation of whiteness is not new, and has been pioneered by Black scholars beginning at least since the early 1900s in the work of W. E. B. Du Bois, what is notable about this new interest in whiteness is its advancement almost exclusively by white scholars. The paucity of literature centering the Black voice in the study of whiteness both suggests the lack of appreciation for the importance of this perspective when researching the phenomenon of racial dominance, and raises questions about the manner in which racial equity work is approached by some Whites who do work that is intended to advance racial equity. This study investigates the context of racial equity collaborations between Blacks and Whites, responding to this knowledge deficit in two ways: a) it centers the Black voice, specifically and intentionally seeking the perspectives of Blacks about racial equity collaborations b) it investigates the nature and effects of the relationships between Blacks and Whites in these collaborative endeavours. This qualitative research study uses in-depth interview data collected from ten Black racial equity workers who collaborate with Whites in doing racial equity work. The data makes evident that the Black participants find these collaborations to be necessary and strategic while at the same time having the potential to undermine their own agency. The study examines this contradiction, discussing several manifestations of it in the lives of these Black racial equity workers. It outlines the importance of Black embodied knowledge to racial equity work and to these collaborations, and outlines an epistemology of unknowing and a politics of humility that these Blacks seek in their white colleagues. The study also outlines the collective and individual strategies used by these Black racial equity workers to navigate and resist the contradictory terrain of their collaborations with Whites in racial equity work.

La Guadeloupe s’est construite avec la colonisation européenne à partir de la traite négrière, aux dépens des populations africaines, et de multiples vagues de travailleurs migrants (Indiens, Syriens, etc.). Certains auteurs conceptualisent les dynamiques identitaires et ethniques de ces populations soit par une construction identitaire mixte, la créolisation, en rupture avec « l’Ancien Monde » (Glissant, 1997 ; Bonniol, 2006, etc.), soit par une conception essentialiste, l’afrocentricité, en continuité avec l’Afrique, où l’aliénation des anciens empires coloniaux est dénoncée (Asante, 2007; Mazama, 1997). Comment les jeunes Guadeloupéens urbains d’aujourd’hui se représentent-ils leurs identités ? Participent-ils à ce débat idéologique ? Cette étude analyse treize entretiens semi-dirigés de jeunes d’une vingtaine d’années, résidant à Pointe-à-Pitre et ses périphéries urbaines et majoritairement issus de la culture hip-hop, ainsi qu’une série d’observations participantes réalisées dans les studios d’enregistrement de certains répondants (été 2014). À travers leurs discours, l’ethnicité guadeloupéenne est représentée par une vision pluriethnique et parfois mixte, à une vision d’ascendance africaine. Les représentations créoles ou afrocentriques sont rares. Certains jeunes mettent en avant leur africanité et d’autres s’en éloignent en s’identifiant à des ancêtres esclaves ou à une mixité ethnique. La culture hip-hop a également une place importante dans leurs représentations identitaires. Finalement, il est difficile de faire ressortir une tendance générale dans leurs discours, tant leurs dynamiques identitaires sont variées. Ce mémoire démontre l’intérêt de mettre en valeur la diversité des représentations identitaires et l’importance de considérer les discours identitaires individuels plutôt que ceux collectifs présents notamment dans la créolisation ou l’afrocentricité. / Guadeloupe was built around the slave trade of African people, European colonization, and multiple waves of migrant workers (Indians, Syrians, etc.). Some scholars conceptualize the ethnicities and identities of these populations as mixed and “new”; Creolization, where a link to the "Old World" is no longer relevant (Glissant, 1997: Bonniol 2006, etc.). Others see an essentialist notion of African identity, Afrocentricity, while old colonial empires’ cultural alienations are denounced (Asante, 2007: Mazama, 1997). How do young urban Guadeloupeans represent their own identities today ? Do they participate in this ideological debate through their identifications? This thesis is based on thirteen semi-structured interviews of youths in their twenties living in Pointe-à-Pitre and peripheral urban areas who mainly associate themselves with hip-hop culture, and a series of participant observations made in the recording studios of the project participants (summer 2014). Based on this research, I have concluded that Guadeloupe's collective identity can be represented as multiethnic, sometime comprised of a notion of mixed ethnicity, and often of African ancestry. However, representation of creole or afrocentric is rare. Moreover, some young people put forward their africanity, while others identify themselves with slave ancestors or mixed ethnicity. Hip-hop culture is also an important part of their identity representations. It is difficult to point out speech patterns because their identity dynamics are diversified. This study highlights the diversity of identity representations and the importance of considering individual identity dynamics rather than collective identity discourses present in particular in Creolisation or Afrocentricity

Text in English / The study unravels moral perversion in selected post-independence detective Shona novels. Moral perversion is a multi-faceted concept and the study focuses on corruption, sexual harassment, abuse of office, stealing, poaching and illegal manufacturing of intoxicating products as the key definers of moral perversion. Afrocentricity merged with Kawaida philosophy are the lenses used to pass critical judgements on the extent the selected literary practitioners portrayed literature rooted in the African ontological existence on moral perversion. Fictional works used as primary sources are Sajeni Chimedza (1984), Mutikitivha Dumbuzenene (1991), Munzwa mundove (1999) and Dandemutande, (1998). All the novels are set in the post-independence era in Zimbabwe when moral perversion is rife. The study is qualitative in nature and data was gathered using questionnaires and interviews from literary critics, publishers and novelists. Particular attention is paid on the causes of moral perversion, images of people in leadership positions and the implications of character assassination of leaders in relation to the development of purposeful literature. The study contends that moral insanity is an acknowledged problem in the post-independence era and novelists are portraying leaders as the chief culprits manning factionalism and unorthodox ways of acquiring resources at the expense of the majority of citizenry. Guided and informed by Afrocentricity, the study argues that novelists are raising pertinent issues although their views are myopic, simplistic and self-defeating because they are failing to see that the leaders are also victims who are victimizing other victims. Blaming the leadership on moral perversion ignoring the impact of colonialism, and neo-colonialism in shaping African personality creates more harm than good as this exonerates the imperialistic system of exploitation which impinges on African culture and personality. Therefore, the study argues that novelists erroneously blame individuals for the sins of a system. There is need to interrogate both external and internal factors to establish sustainable home-grown problem solving solutions to improve human condition and the development of functional literature in Africa. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)