Foreign Policy and its People: Transforming the Apartheid Department of Foreign Affairs
Just as apartheid was ending, South Africa’s foreign relations witnessed a massive expansion. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs that was to manage this change found itself undergoing institutional transformations of both personnel and ideology. Studies on South African foreign policy have mostly neglected this transformation, which has had a considerable influence on the content and direction of South African foreign policy. In discussing this seldom-studied issue, this analysis unearths the discussions and debates that took place between various stakeholders to bring about transformation in the Department. In doing so, it argues that two different cultures of diplomacy came together in forming the new Department of Foreign Affairs. These cultures have had a significant impact on the thrust and direction of post-apartheid South Africa foreign policy.
Re-Evaluating South African Foreign Policy Decision-Making: Archives, Architects and the Promise of Another Wave
ABSTRACT Research on South Africa’s post-apartheid foreign policy decision-making has stagnated. For more than a quarter century analysts have generally drawn on secondary material from other scholars, newspaper reporting, and the speeches of government officials to elucidate how South Africa crafts and carries out its foreign policy. The accessibility of previously classified archival documents and the availability of policy makers for research interviews holds the potential to advance scholarship on South African foreign policy along two fronts. First, these primary sources offer insight into foreign policy decision-making processes. And second, they encourage a critical re-evaluation of many of the traditional understandings and tropes that have dominated the study of South African foreign policy. This paper outlines the state of foreign policy studies in South Africa and then demonstrates the power of primary research to alter key ideas about the conduct and content of South African foreign policy through three case studies.
Quality of life in osteogenesis imperfecta
The purpose of this study was to quantify the physical and mental health of a diverse adult cohort of patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) utilizing a validated health self-assessment questionnaire (SF-36). In addition, a specific demographic questionnaire and a functional questionnaire were utilized to assess more specifically the physical limitations imposed by osteogenesis imperfecta in adulthood. The results of the SF-36 revealed significantly lower physical function scores compared to the U.S. adult norms. However, the SF-36 mental component scores were equal to the U.S. adult norms. The demographic questionnaire revealed high levels of educational achievement, as well as employment, despite significant physical impairments. The functional questionnaire clearly demonstrated limitations mostly related to ambulation.RésuméLe but de cette étude était mesurer la santé physique et mentale d'une cohorte de malades adultes avec osteogenesis imperfecta utilisant un questionnaire validée de l'estimation de la qualité de vie (SF-36). De plus, un questionnaire démographique spécifique et un questionnaire utilitaire ont été utilisés pour répartir plus spécifiquement les limitations physiques imposées par l'osteogénèse imparfaite à l'âge adulte. Les résultats du SF-36 ont révélé des scores de la fonction physique nettement inférieurs aux normes adultes Américaines. Cependant, le composant mental du score SF-36 était équivalent aux normes adultes Américaines. Le questionnaire démographique a révélé des hauts niveaux d'étude et d'emploi en dépit d'affaiblissements physiques considérables. Le questionnaire utilitaire a montré des limitations principalement liées à l'ambulation.