Chinese and Indian Political and Economic Engagement with South Africa: Day Five: Professor Brian Levy and Robben Island

Day Five- January 19

Morning Meeting: Professor Brian Levy, University of Cape Town and SAIS

Today we spoke with Brian Levy, a SAIS professor currently teaching at the University of Cape Town. From the beautiful offices of the Graduate School of Development, Policy, and Practice in which he works from January through April, Professor Levy spoke with us on a wide range of issues relating to the current environment in South Africa. The recent history of this country very much shapes South African politics today. Professor Levy started his discussion with an introduction of the program that he is helping to develop at the University of Cape Town. Similar to the international development concentration at SAIS, but for mid-career professionals, the professor’s ultimate vision of the program is to provide an understanding of the “messy complexity” of important issues, not only in South Africa, but regionally and globally as well.

Professor Levy paints a somewhat pessimistic outlook of South Africa. Highlighting the central features of the country, especially in relation to China and India, he stated that South Africa’s inheritance as a part of western globalization stems from its colonial history. This colonial experience is so deeply embedded in the people’s minds that despite the relatively peaceful transition to universal democracy, popular South African sentiment distrusts the West, making other centers relatively more appealing as potential partners. Both India and China fall into this category of “alternatives” to the West. At the same time, South Africa is struggling to reconcile its historical inequality with a desire to grow its economy. The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy is an attempt to transform the racial structure of the middle class and the elite.

Nevertheless, today, it is increasingly debated whether Nelson Mandela succeeded in creating the ideal equal society (or one that can naturally move in that direction) or simply reorganized the ethnic divide. In other words, is Nelson Mandela a “sellout” to the status quo of the social and economic injustice of apartheid South Africa? Brian Levy believes that some in South Africa do hold this belief. Among the admiration and respect for South Africa’s former president and despite the freedom and equality hailed after liberation, South Africa’s per capita income today still falls at the same level as Thailand and Turkey (at $7000), and its Gini coefficient is approximately 0.70 -- higher than Brazil, which is often considered the poster child of inequality. Over two decades into universal democracy, there still exists an extraordinary inequality that is divided along racial lines. The top income group continues to be dominated by white South Africans, while black South Africans still find it hard to advance up the social and economic ladder. Despite similar educational opportunities and national policies aimed to correct the imbalance, opportunities for first generation educated blacks are limited and often insurmountable. Similar to the 1969 anti-Chinese riots in Malaysia, Professor Levy believes that a strong correlation between race and class in a country with a history of privilege and discrimination can lead to political instability. South African leadership will need to address these issues to remain politically viable.

Professor Levy touched on other aspects of South Africa’s political climate that are affecting its success in the world arena. First, he describes South Africa as a member of the BRICS in which its benefits are limited, especially when compared with other members such as China and India. South Africa experienced a large boom in construction pre-World Cup and two subsequent busts that put significant downward pressure on the South African economy. The two busts in infrastructure development arose through two main channels: corruption (both public and private), and a collapse in demand post-2010. Compounding infrastructure difficulties is a depreciating ZAR. Professor Levy spoke about three main drivers of South African currency depreciation: 1) a strengthening USD which is putting deflationary pressure on most major world currencies, 2) a decrease in commodity export prices, and 3) domestic politics (including some scandals) within South Africa. These factors, along with the country’s inability to capitalize on the past decade’s commodity boom means that poverty and inequality are rampant within South Africa, most likely to the detriment of its economic growth.

Despite some gloomy signs within South Africa, especially with regards to inequality and the economy, Professor Levy also provided some signs that successful mobilization of South African resources may be achieved efficiently in various industries such as renewable energy. He ultimately distilled the purpose of his graduate program at the University of Cape Town as a question of “can the center hold?” In other words, there is a need to nurture complex discourse, question the status quo, learn to work in a space of complexity, and ultimately realize gains regardless of the challenges. He reiterated that success is a spectrum, and can come from multiple paths. Despite the problems apparent in current South African politics as well as some notable counter forces, his belief is that South Africa is a strong example of the center holding. This pragmatic optimism seems to underlie his involvement in this particular program. So far, the response of the program’s 20 students has been positive, and it will be interesting to follow the development of this program in the future.

- Alyssa Teddy and Jane Qiu

Robben Island

In the afternoon the group travelled to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years as a political prisoner.