David J. Hornsby

Are Universities Redundant

Modern higher education is faced with a common problem regardless of location and developmental contexts: How do we educate students in a time of disruption?

Communities and scholarship in supporting early-career academics at the University of the Witwatersrand

The present paper reports on early-career academics’ (ECAs) experiences of support for teaching in a research-intensive university in Africa. Through conducting a questionnaire and follow up in-depth interviews greater insight into how ECAs perceive and experience support for developing their teaching practice, is gained. Our analysis suggests that most academics interviewed began their first teaching position with no preparation for all that teaching involves. Many struggled to balance the demands associated with teaching and research, in addition to familiarizing oneself with institutional teaching norms and cultures. Almost all found support from within their discipline, although such support was incidental and spontaneous rather than planned. We offer the idea of communities of practice as an approach to institutionalize support for ECAs and draw on the scholarship of teaching and learning as the theoretical framing for this study and experience from a South African institution.

The International Food Safety Complex in Southern Africa: Cooperation or Competition?

The article seeks to contribute to discussions about international institutional complexes, in particular how they emerge and form functional niches. Testing the premise that competition between international institutions guides functional niche selection, the International Food Safety Complex (IFSC) is characterised and examined in light of the experience of Southern Africa. Institutional competition is shown not to be a necessary precondition for functional niche selection; rather, cooperation can also be a starting point. Related to whether competition or cooperation win out are the timing of and absolute demand for the international institutional complex. The final section looks at the impact of the structure and function of the IFSC on building food safety regulation in the Southern African region. A single case study of South Africa offers some insight into the opportunities and challenges that exist in the African region.

South Africa–Canada relations: a case of middle power (non)cooperation?

Setting the stage for a special section dedicated to interrogating the Canada–South Africa relationship, the paper finds the current South Africa–Canada relationship to be disconnected, fraught and uneasy. This comes as a surprise given the close ties forged during South Africas democratic transition. In line with a history of support and shared membership of the Commonwealth, G20, Cairns Group and involvement in the Kimberley Process, it is assumed that both countries are natural allies on the international stage. Instead, South Africa and Canada have consistently been on opposite sides of big international problems. The paper considers whether apparent differences between traditional and emerging middle powers create challenges in fostering meaningful cooperation and advances a number of conceptual conditions important in understanding when and how middle power cooperation occurs. The authors examine an important condition for emerging middle powers in prioritising cooperative endeavours, aid and trade, and draw conclusions from the South Africa–Canada case.

WTO effectiveness in resolving transatlantic trade‐environment conflict

Purpose – One of the major strategic challenges facing the transatlantic trade relationship is the ability to regulate such risk areas as the environment whilst maintaining important trade flows. Much scholarship has emphasised formal United States (US)‐European Union (EU) trade disputes when considering the treatment of risk. However, these cases represent a minority of the trade conflict at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). A majority of trade conflict gets raised, debated and resolved informally in the WTO committee structure. The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement is the WTO institutional arrangement that seeks to reconcile environmental, health and food safety regulations with trade objectives. The SPS embodies “in‐house” dispute resolution mechanisms that are based on the notion of constructive engagement. Mechanisms like ad hoc consultations, registering official protests, use of the chairs good offices and coordination with international standard setting organisations have been effectiv...

Changing perception into reality: Canada in Africa

Canadians tend to perceive Canada’s historic engagement and influence in Africa in ways very much disconnected from reality. Canada’s self-image as a humane internationalist country deeply engaged with Africa relies on an idealized version of history. Nevertheless, there have been times when the reality of Canadian foreign policy engagement with Africa has been much closer to that ideal than it is now. This paper seeks to contribute to the debate on Canada–Africa relations by building greater understanding of Canada’s position in Africa. It tackles the question of Canada’s engagement with Africa by analyzing three broad aspects of a possible relationship between a developed country and developing region: the economic, developmental, and trans-societal. Analysis of these three areas of interaction provides insight into what could be done to renew or reinvigorate Canada’s engagement with Africa.

Canada's (Dis)Engagement with South Africa

Canada and South Africa have a long history of cooperation. However, in recent times the relationship has become fraught and disconnected. The present working paper examines the relationship considering Canadian official development assistance and trade relations with South Africa since 1993. It argues that declining aid and trade do not serve Canadas foreign policy interests in Africa but also amongst emerging economies as South Africa is an important actor in the region and in multilateral forums.

The Perfect Storm: Risk Based Trade Dispute Emergence: The Case of EU-Hormones

The present working paper is part of a larger project that is underway to characterize the politics of risk based transatlantic trade conflict. In particular, attention is given to the role of science in the process for trade dispute emergence. This working paper suggests that the role of epistemic communities and scientific evidence played an important role in this context of trade conflict and seeks to chart when, where and how science was influential. As such, the contribution lies in systematically in discussing the interplay between political and economic interests and scientific ideas as a means to attempt to understand how all of these variables matter in risk based trade disputes emergence.The formal trade dispute over Hormone-fed beef offers an instance where the US and Canada formally challenged European risk regulations. The succeeding section charts the evolution of this case up to the point of launching a formal WTO dispute, with particular emphasis on the interests present and the role of science used to justify the regulations, the forums used and the influence of epistemic communities to try and bring about a resolution. Whilst, these formal disputes have been the centre of much scholarship, there has been little consideration given to the role of science.

Reframing Large Classes through Fostering the Citizen Scholar

Conventional pedagogical wisdom sees large classes as an enormous obstacle to fostering key attributes of the Citizen Scholar. We seek to challenge this narrative by arguing that adopting innovative pedagogical approaches that focus on engaging students can counter traditional perspectives regarding large class learning environments. Indeed, focusing on student engagement speaks directly to the idea of the Citizen Scholar as attributes inherent within proficiencies such as creativity and innovation, resilience, working across teams and design thinking are promoted. It is hard to imagine a Citizen Scholar who is not, at the core, an engaged individual.

South Africa's bilateral relationships in the evolving foreign policy of an emerging middle power

This article introduces the special issue on ‘South African Foreign Policy: identity, directions, and intentions’. Here we seek to summarize key insights from the contributions to this special issue to deepen understanding of South Africa’s evolving post-apartheid foreign policy through an exploration of the nature and trajectory of key bilateral relationships from both the global ‘South’ (Brazil, China, Iran, the AU) and ‘North’ (Japan and the UK). This window on the country’s international relations enriches understanding of the normative and structural factors that influence not only South African foreign policy, but those of what Edouard Jordaan calls emerging middle powers as they seek to position themselves as influential actors in international affairs. We sketch the contours of these key South African relationships in four areas where the tendencies and tensions of emerging middle power foreign policies are apparent: regionalism, multilateralism, reform of global governance, and approach to moral leadership.