Book on post-apartheid South Africa by Leicester academic published
Lecturer and South Africa specialist from our University Dr James Hamill has published a new book, Africa’s Lost Leader: South Africa’s Continental Role Since Apartheid.
The study explores the country’s complex and difficult relationship with the rest of the continent in the post-apartheid era, and traces the evolution and trajectory of South African policy in Africa.
It will be launched by Adelphi on Thursday 25 January at 12.30pm at The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. The event will be Chaired by Dr Nicholas Redman Director of Editorial; Editor, Strategic Survey and Adelphi Books, IISS and Dr Hamill will be joined by panellist Prof. Jack Spence OBE FKC, a former Professor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University.
Dr Hamill, of the School of History, Politics and International Relations, said: “When Nelson Mandela was sworn in as president on 10 May 1994, much of the international community expected the post-apartheid South Africa to play a dominant role on the continent: promoting conflict resolution, economic development, and acting as a standard-bearer for democracy and human rights. Yet throughout the presidencies of Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, South Africa has failed to deliver. With new powers now emerging on the continent, South Africa finds itself in economic and military decline, struggling with an onerous domestic agenda. It must now adapt to this new reality in a transitional era likely to shape Africa’s prospects for decades to come.”