Published: 8 November 2024
Last updated: 8 November 2024
In September 2024, a network of activists, some embedded in the state and in government, others in senior roles in public universities and still others with strong links to the centres of political power, mobilised to expel a conference from the site of the Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg.
The conference, entitled Narrative Conditions Towards Peace in the Middle East, brought together international experts seeking a nuanced discussion of the conflict.
It was this year’s African Global Dialogue, an annual public policy event, which is an initiative of the New South Institute (NSI), a public policy thinktank. The NSI works on institution building and democratization in complex environments, largely post-colonial and post-socialist.
Believing in the simple mantra that good policy is evidence-based the NSI decided to host a series of discussions to better understand the history, the politics and the legal situation in the Middle East.
When the war in Gaza is over, unless there are major shifts in the political environment, including in the political discourses that frame the situation, there will be another war – as has been happening since 1948. What role could South Africa play in disrupting this cycle positively?
This question is especially relevant in the light of two local developments: Firstly, since the South African government took Israel to the International Court of Justice, there has been an election, and a Government of National Unity has been formed.
Secondly, in December 2024, South Africa will chair the G20 group of countries and there is an opportunity, at least formally, to shape the global, political agenda. In addition, as the NSI we wanted to have such a discussion in Johannesburg, South Africa, to insist on the importance of hosting discussions on major, global topics in the global South, and not just in Washington or London.
