Raymond Suttner
Leadership in Question part 3: Has Cyril Ramaphosa taken control of the ANC and the state?
30th November 2020 It was never going to be easy to steer the South African ship of state after the Jacob Zuma years, even though Cyril Ramaphosa’s rise to the... →
Leadership in Question (Part Two): Emancipatory leadership is needed, even or especially in a crisis situation
4th November 2020 Many textbook definitions of leadership focus on who has the right to issue commands or to demand obedience. While that does sometimes relate to... →
Leadership in Question, part one: The leadership we have
20th October 2020 In some discourse it appears that leadership and who leads is not very important. There is a Marxist critique of the “great man” version of... →
How do we emerge from the current crisis?
11th August 2020 The ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa personally are taking an unprecedented level of criticism at the moment. Many are finding it shocking that... →
Unresolved intimate partner assault: Josina Machel loses an eye
16th July 2020 Josina Machel may seem by virtue of her family associations, to have enjoyed some immunity from abuse. But she, too, has experienced vicious... →
Our various ways of relating to lockdown
29th June 2020 We are at a phase of the development of Covid-19 where we need to cultivate even greater civic and social responsibility, than has been evident... →
How do we mark the 65th anniversary of the Freedom Charter?
22nd June 2020 This Friday 26 June marks the 65th anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People, the culminating moment of a... →
Lockdown: Violence, hunger and indifference
15th June 2020 As we mark the anniversary of the June 16 1976 uprising, many young people are experiencing hunger and there is widespread violence emanating from... →
Lockdown messaging must be sensitive to the plight of the poor and vulnerable
20th April 2020 The state of disaster and the lockdown has led to the curtailment of fundamental rights of people in South Africa. It imposes a duty on government... →
For lockdown to succeed security forces need to be reined in
14th April 2020 The lockdown is a unique experience, in that the people of South Africa consented to the limiting of their freedom in order to combat the spread of... →
Coronavirus, multiple crises and the need for human solidarity
10th March 2020 It is well known that South Africa is experiencing a range of crises and in many cases, it seems hard for these to be surmounted. There is a heavy... →
EFF: contributing towards or undermining democratic life?
17th February 2020 The EFF disruption of the SONA last week happened at a time when the ANC is having difficulty holding together and has not itself contributed... →
Making the DA white again?
13th February 2020 Many have remarked on the ANC being in deep crisis but the DA, after substantial gains in municipal elections in 2016 not being in a position to... →
Enock Mpianzi: making boys into men
4th February 2020 The death of Enock Mpianzi, while on a Parktown Boys High School camp in the North-West Province has aroused considerable concern, not only from... →
Unstable democracy
21st January 2020 At the inauguration of post-apartheid democracy, there were some fears for stability, though these related to the old regime and the far right and... →
ANC anniversary during a time of crisis
7th January 2020 There was a time when I would not have written about the ANC, on the eve of the 8th January anniversary statement. I would have waited to see what... →
Law and the legal profession in a democracy under attack
7th October 2019 I am a qualified advocate but have had very little practical experience. I have more experience in working as an academic lawyer by day and as a... →
Reinvigorating our vocabulary for freedom and emancipation
7th October 2019 The publication of this article is part of a personal and intellectual journey rethinking my political understandings. I am particularly concerned... →
Build unity to defend democracy and advance an emancipatory future
26th September 2019 Despite making significant gains, in recovering state assets that were misappropriated during the Jacob Zuma era and restoration of legality, there... →
#Xenophobia #Rape and the crisis of credibility
12th September 2019 Recent weeks have been widely interpreted as representing crises for the Cyril Ramaphosa presidency, and it does not look like it will abate in the... →
CR17 funding and the quality of our democratic life
2nd September 2019 During the ANC and State Presidency of Jacob Zuma, one of the features of the organisation's changing character was the absence of debate, the loss... →
#CR17 campaign funding and the changes in our politics
21st August 2019 I am not in a position to assess the legality of the CR17 campaign funding released in media leaks and arising from the Public Protector's report... →
If the Public Protector ought to go, who will make it happen?
26th July 2019 Much public commentary since Monday 22 July has concerned the Constitutional Court judgment on the Public Protector (PP), Busisiwe Mkhwebane... →
The threat to democracy (part two) The EFF
16th July 2019 Last week the EFF crossed a threshold, in the violation of constitutional democracy, by approaching Pravin Gordhan at the speaker’s podium and... →
The threat to democracy (part one) – the Public Protector
15th July 2019 Much of the media has been dominated over recent weeks by controversy surrounding reports of the Public Protector (PP) on the conduct of President... →
Peter Hudson, bearer of emancipatory knowledge
5th July 2019 An erudite scholar, complex writer and revered teacher, Peter Hudson bequeathed the enduring value of learn and teach, teach and learn. Through... →
Marking June 16 this year
18th June 2019 Visiting any mall or reading advertising inserts in South African newspapers or emails from various commercial outlets, one learns that June 16 is... →
New cabinet and constructive support for the “new dawn”
3rd June 2019 Many people welcomed the removal of Jacob Zuma as State President and provided constructive support (and criticism) for the Cyril Ramaphosa-led... →
Cyril Ramaphosa’s choices, constraints and the question of trust
20th May 2019 For some time, it has been clear that the ANC operates with at least two contesting centres of power. On the one hand there is that centred around... →
The judiciary, State capture and the future
14th May 2019 Many democrats are wary of an unelected judiciary entering the political fray by deciding cases that have significant political implications. The... →
How do we understand democracy and human freedom?
6th May 2019 Is South Africa a liberal democracy and if so, does that provide the quality of freedom that we require? What is the democracy that we celebrate on... →
The ANC’s representational crises
23rd April 2019 The ANC led by President Cyril Ramaphosa may secure a majority or increase its share of the votes in May 8’s national elections. However, we are... →
Makhanda’s attack on Grahamstown
23rd April 2019 April 22 marks the bi-centenary of the attack on the British garrison in Grahamstown, led by warrior-prophet, Makhanda, in whose honour the town... →
Restoring ethics, trust and compassion into South African politics
8th April 2019 Many feel “depressed” or “disillusioned” and do not know what to do with their vote and do not see a way out of the current dissolute politics.... →
Reclaiming political agency in a time of “choiceless democracy”
3rd April 2019 The ambiguity of ANC hegemony. It is very likely that the national elections to be held on May 8 will be free and fair and also, that the ANC will... →
The Christchurch massacre: leadership in New Zealand and South Africa
25th March 2019 In the wake of the mosque massacres in Christchurch, New Zealand, many have admired the actions of New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. It... →
25 years of democracy (Part 5): xenophobia repudiates foundational values of democratic South Africa
19th March 2019 Why is xenophobia so important? Some readers may believe that the title of this article places too much weight on xenophobia. It comprises a set... →
25 years of democracy part 4: decline of the liberation project
11th March 2019 The impetus behind the writing of this article has been the exhortation on the part of many well-meaning people to exercise our civic duty and... →
25 years of democracy (part 3): Denial of dignity then and now
25th February 2019 “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of... →
25 years of democracy (Part 2): Debate, depoliticisation and absence of vision
18th February 2019 There was a time when the struggle in South Africa was suffused with debate, contending positions being examined and questioned and many people... →
25 years of democracy (Part 1): ruptures and continuities
11th February 2019 How is it that what seemed so promising in the inauguration of South African democracy, 25 years ago, has turned sour? Should those who were... →
