Critical South

Send a text In this episode of Critical South Professor Lawrence Hamilton talks to Professor Amilcar Pereira about the history of racism, the anti-racism movement and the fight against the myth of racial democracy in Brazil. They talk about the importance of the political struggle to transform society, touching on a wide range of events, ideas and thinkers including Amílcar Cabral as an educator o...

Send a text For the first time since the dawn of democracy in South Africa 30 years ago, the African National Congress has lost its majority, forcing the liberation party to enter a coalition for it to rule the country.  In this episode Professors Lawrence Hamilton and Susan Booysen have an in-depth discussion about the 2024 election results, how these results came about, how the country got to th...

Send a text How has Narendra Modi survived as India's Prime Minister since 2014? And how will he last beyond India's current 2024 elections?  In this episode of Critical South we trace the political trajectory of Modi as Professor Lawrence Hamilton has a one-on-one with Professor Sanjay Ruparelia from Toronto Metropolitan University.  Ruparelia draws some parallels between Modi's pa...

Send a text How did the Piquetero Movement in Argentina come about? And what did this movement  as arguably the most significant unemployed workers' movement in the world do differently to other social movements.  In this episode Professor Lawrence Hamilton speaks with Professor Federico Rossi about social movements and political change in Argentina. They discuss the emergence of the Piqueter...

Send a text How is democracy  domesticated on the African continent? And when we talk about misgovernance in Africa, what do we mean?  In this episode Professor Lawrence Hamilton has a one-on-one with Professor Bernard Matolino to answer these questions.  Matolino talks about democracy by consensus  versus majoritarian democracy  looking at issues of representation and equality.  And  he casts a c...

Send a text In this episode of Critical South the focus is on how systemic corruption influences constitutional reform in Chile.  Professor Lawrence Hamilton has a one-on-one with Dr Camila Vergara, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Cambridge  on the ongoing quest for constitutional reform in the South American country.  She  breaks down the challenges with systemic corruption...

Send a text In this episode of Critical South, Dr Nicole Beardsworth from the University of the Witwatersrand is interviewing Professor  Aili Tripp, who is a Professor of Political Science, Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin. Prof Tripp explains why African autocracies adopt gender reforms .  She has done some fascinating work in various African countries and will tell us if...

Send a text In today’s episode we look at radical politics, representation, populism and citizenship both in the global North and global south.  Professor Lawrence Hamilton engages with Professor Lasse Thomassen from Queen Mary University of London and Professor Laurence Piper from University West Sweden.  They discuss the Cape Town suburb of Hout Bay to understand how  they’re not being represent...

Send a text Robert Mugabe is known as the anchor of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle and problem child in its post-colonial politics.  But what is the real legacy of his long 37 year rule of Zimbabwe? In this episode  Professor Lawrence Hamilton interviews Professor David Moore on his new book Mugabe’s Legacy: Coups, Conspiracies and the Conceits of Power in Zimbabwe. Moore talks about modes of prod...

Send a text In this episode we discuss South Africa’s recent journey of electoral reform.  Dr Sithembile Mbete, who was on the ministerial advisory council, has a hearty one-on-one with Professor Lawrence Hamilton giving us the backstory to the Electoral Amendment Act, signed off by President Cyril Ramaphosa.  The act came about after the Constitutional Court ruled that the Electoral Act was uncon...