/267/ South Africa Mafia State ft. Benjamin Fogel (Patreon)

On crumbling state authority. 

Benjamin Fogel is back on the podcast to talk us through how South Africa has gone from the hopes of post-apartheid to the Durban riots of 2021. How have corruption, criminal networks, Indian oligarchs, and parasitic political forces combined to shatter any sense of a national project? We also discuss the role of xenophobia and particularist and racial politics in today's South Africa. 

Readings & Links:

• /27/ After Zuma ft. Sean Jacobs 
• The insurrection in South Africa is about more than freeing Zuma, Benjamin Fogel, Al Jazeera
• Dons have KZN in their grip — and Don of Dons Jacob Zuma has the tightest grip, Chris Makhaye, Daily Maverick
• No two elephants are alike, Ryan Brunette, Africa Is A Country
• Rising vigilantism: South Africa is reaping the fruits of misrule, Landau & Misago, The Conversation