Lesotho's interactions with South Africa and regional organisations in Southern Africa

Weisfelder, Richard F.

doi:10.1080/10220461.2014.895081

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…In the case of the Orange‐Senqu, however, it is clear that ‘benefit sharing’ can be realized—despite asymmetrical gains—if the need of the hydrohegemonic state is significant, so confirming Delbourg and Strobl's observation that cooperation in country dyads is more likely when the upstream riparian receives a shock. In this case, cooperation quickly followed a coup d'etat . Moreover, for Turton and Funke, South Africa's chosen role as a ‘positive‐sum outcome’ hydro‐hegemon is commensurate with findings by Gleditsch et al that states with endemic water scarcity have a vested interest in finding cooperative solutions that minimize the potential for future conflict.…”

Section: The Presence Of Cooperationsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…In this case, cooperation quickly followed a coup d'etat. 60,116,117 Moreover, for Turton and Funke, 60 South Africa's chosen role as a 'positivesum outcome' hydro-hegemon is commensurate with findings by Gleditsch et al 71 that states with endemic water scarcity have a vested interest in finding cooperative solutions that minimize the potential for future conflict.…”

Section: The Presence Of Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…However, the evidence supporting this claim is conjectural and anecdotal. Richard F. Weisfelder, in contrast, argues that the intervention was misconstrued by some as a ‘water war’ and, while there were several initial missteps, ultimately the intervention was one element of many SADC interactions ‘vital in sustaining its democratic government and restoring political stability’. Nevertheless, the lesson to be learned, according to these scholars, is that South Africa will remain the dominant actor in the region for the forseeable future .…”

Section: Warning Signs and Lessons Learnedmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Water conflict and cooperation in Southern Africa

Swatuk

2015

WIREs Water

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The water resources of southern Africa have featured centrally in the global literature on water conflict and cooperation. This scholarship has appeared in two waves: (1) the post-Cold War focus on resource scarcities and the possibility of 'water wars' and (2) the mid-2000s rise of fears surrounding the impact of a changing climate on water resource regimes. The first wave, in the region, ironically resulted in a significant body of scholarship demonstrating the predominance of cooperation rather than conflict. The second wave has served primarily as a spur to better governance and management, and to better integration across the policy making landscape. Running as something of a countercurrent to these dominant trends, is critical scholarship that focuses primarily on water rights and regards conflict as a necessary means to more equitable resource access ends. A key challenge for scholars of water conflict and cooperation across the region is, therefore, to reconcile both theoretically and practically the macro studies of largely transboundary water politics with the micro studies of social struggles for water in urban and rural settings. The article concludes that for a third wave of studies to add value to questions of regional water security, scholars must (1) recognize the simultaneous presence of conflict and cooperation, (2) acknowledge that not all conflict is bad, neither is all cooperation good, (3) approach the analysis more systematically through hard data gathering, and (4) read beyond their disciplines in order to more fully understand the social dynamics of the region.

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Section: The Presence Of Cooperationsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: The Presence Of Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Warning Signs and Lessons Learnedmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Water conflict and cooperation in Southern Africa

Swatuk

2015

WIREs Water

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“…Nevertheless, there have often been questions associated with Pretoria's involvement in Lesotho by fellow SADC member states. Over the years, there has been a link between South Africa's intervention in the Kingdom and water, the Katse Dam (Weisfelder, ). This may be traced back to1986 when South Africa played a role in ending a military coup in Lesotho.…”

Section: Military Intervention In Lesothomentioning

confidence: 99%

SouthAfrica's integration efforts within theSouthernAfricanDevelopmentCommunity:Regional supremacy or coalition?

Mlambo

Ogunnubi

2018

Journal of Public Affairs

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Regional integration has manifested itself to be an integral part of Africa's postcolonial economic growth blueprints. It was viewed as a mechanism for African states to enhance their development and work collectively, improve their cooperation, and enhance peace and security. Nevertheless, regional integration initiatives are often seen to succeed when spearheaded by regional hegemons. By narrowing this to southern Africa, from 1994 after the first-ever democratic elections and after also becoming a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), SouthAfrica was regarded as a state capable of spearheading regional integration. This was a result of its relatively robust economy and military power in comparison with other SADC states. As a result, it was poised to utilize these vast resources to the benefit of the SADC. However, over the last two and a half decades, its regional stance has often come under a lot of scrutinizing due to its ambiguous foreign policy doctrine, particularly in southern Africa. Basically, its post-1994 foreign policy projections towards the region have often not been implemented as attested and have often lacked clear articulation. Nevertheless, this paper argues that South Africa has made positive strides in the SADC's regional integration endeavors post its democratic transition. Its vast regional investments and diplomatic and military interventions have played a crucial role in the development and security reforms in the region. Although it is portrayed as a regional hegemon, it has nevertheless used its regional standpoint to the benefit of the region and further contributed to regional integration post the apartheid era.

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“…The voter turnout was a mere 50.4% of registered voters. This scenario was aggravated by the continued failure to provide absentee voting for Basotho residing in or visiting South Africa (Weisfelder 2014). Eighteen parties entered constituency candidates and party lists, with four of them contesting almost every seat.…”

Section: The 2011 Electoral Reforms and 2012 Electionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free Elections and Political Instability in Lesotho

Weisfelder

2015

JAE

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Since 1993, Lesotho has had six free elections. Five have been followed by episodes of coercive regional diplomacy or military intervention to maintain order or sustain the elected government. Two of these interventions have occurred as Lesotho's electoral system was being transformed from a firstpast-the-post dominant party system to a mixed member proportional pattern, and a third intervention is presently underway. This essay contends that the effort to remedy the prior lack of inclusiveness in Parliament has accentuated the fissiparous proclivities within Lesotho's political culture. Following the 2012 and 2015 elections, greater fragmentation among political parties led to hung parliaments and coalition governments with minimal parliamentary majorities. This essay questions whether Staffan Lindberg's conceptual model regarding the link between the consolidation of democracy and the experience of successive free and fair elections can adequately explain Lesotho's trajectory. Remarkably, the transfers of power by Pakalitha Mosisili to Motsoahae Thomas Thabane in 2012, and by Thabane back to Mosisili in 2015, were the first such exchanges between an incumbent government and an opposition party in southern Africa during the post-liberation era. Whether this positive development might be translated into more effective governance and regard for democratic norms will be explored.

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Lesotho's interactions with South Africa and regional organisations in Southern Africa

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Water conflict and cooperation in Southern Africa

Water conflict and cooperation in Southern Africa

SouthAfrica's integration efforts within theSouthernAfricanDevelopmentCommunity:Regional supremacy or coalition?

Free Elections and Political Instability in Lesotho

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