2024-03-29T01:07:07Zhttps://uir.unisa.ac.za/oai/requestoai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/309062024-02-29T08:41:42Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Ideology matters in unravelling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Meissner, Richard
Ideology
Ukraine
Russia
War
2024-02-29T08:41:42Z
2024-02-29T08:41:42Z
2022-05-23
Technical Report
Ideology matters in unravelling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meissner, R. 2022 In: The conversation
2201-5639
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30906
en
The Conversation
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/308942024-02-27T14:58:56Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Interrelated transformative process dynamics in the face of resource nexus challenges: an invitation towards cross case analysis
Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
Pahl-Wostl, Claudia
Meissner, Richard
Scholz, Geeske
Cockburn, Jessica
JALASI, EXPERENCIA
Stuart-Hill, Sabine
Palmer, Carolyn
Water-energy-food nexus
transformative processes
social-ecological systems
social science theory
cross case analysis
The need for more attention to the social and human dimensions in global change sciences
and natural resources management requires in-depth understandings of transformative
approaches and processes. More inclusive and systemic approaches are needed that embrace
complexity and support transformative learning, shifts in power relations, collective and
relational agency and structural transformations for adaptive and innovative governance.
Scientific understanding of how such change can be brought about is still limited. In this
paper, which sets the scene for this Special Issue, we develop a conceptual framework for
analyzing transformative processes across a range of diverse cases. Aspects of the conceptual
framework are applied, tested and elaborated in three following papers in the Special Issue,
deepening understanding of how transformative change in complex social-ecological systems
may originate at nexus boundary zones such as that portrayed by the water-food-energy
nexus. Specifically, the paper conceptually elaborates four iteratively related dynamics of
transformative learning, transforming power relations, transformative agency and transforming
structures which intersect in transformation processes. The perspectives offer tools for cross
case analysis in the longer term, but also tools for supporting co-engaged, generative
research processes.
2024-02-27T14:58:51Z
2024-02-27T14:58:51Z
2024-02-11
Article
Heila Lotz-Sisitka, Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Richard Meissner, Geeske Scholz, Jessica Cockburn, Experencia Madalitso Jalasi, Sabine Stuart-Hill & Carolyn (Tally) Palmer (2024) Interrelated transformative process dynamics in the face of resource nexus challenges: an invitation towards cross case analysis, Ecosystems and People, 20:1, 2297707, DOI: 10.1080/26395916.2023.2297707
2639-5916
https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbsm22
https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2023.2297707
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30894
en
20;1
Taylor & Francis
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/308932024-02-27T13:41:32Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Exploring social processes in transformation: the case of a collaborative water partnership in South Africa
Pringle, Catherine B.
Meissner, Richard
Biggs, Reinette
Pahl-Wostl, Claudia
Stuart-Hill, Sabine
Sitas, Nadia
uMngeni Catchment
Holling's adadaptive cycle
Research Subject Categories::INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREAS::Water in nature and society
Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Political science
uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership
Protean power
Triple-loop learning
Agency
South Africa
Ecological Infrastructure
Water resources
We explore the social processes supporting transformation towards collaborative water
governance in the uMngeni catchment, South Africa. Using Holling’s adaptive cycle as
a heuristic of phases (conservation, release, reorganisation and exploitation) present during
transformation of social-ecological systems, we consider the role of learning, power, agency
and structure during each phase of the evolution of the uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure
Partnership (UEIP). The UEIP is a partnership between government, research institutions, and
civil society groups that facilitates broader and more collaborative participation in water
management. During the conservation phase, strong control power and institutional structure
(denoted by a hierarchical governance mode embodying control and regulation by the
State) limited the introduction of new ideas and reinforced single-loop learning. The release
phase was triggered by a shock which weakened control power and permitted the introduction
of new ideas thereby enabling double-loop learning. The changing conditions gave rise
to protean power (defined as results of practices of agile actors coping with uncertainty)
which enhanced the agency of key actors who began to mobilise others in a rapid phase of
re-organisation. Triple-loop learning was evident in the exploitation phase as new collaborative
institutions, that were better able to accommodate innovative ideas, began to emerge.
We found the adaptive cycle helpful for delineating phases of change, while the four multifaceted
processes of learning, power, agency and structure proved useful in illuminating
dynamics of change. This understanding may help to inform actions to steer transformations
towards more sustainable and collaborative water governance in South Africa and elsewhere.
2024-02-27T13:41:30Z
2024-02-27T13:41:30Z
2023-06-05
Article
Catherine B. Pringle, Richard Meissner, Reinette Biggs, Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Sabine Stuart-Hill & Nadia Sitas (2023) Exploring social processes in transformation: the case of a collaborative water partnership in South Africa, Ecosystems and People, 19:1, 2213780, DOI: 10.1080/26395916.2023.2213780
2639-5916
https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbsm22
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30893
en
19;1
Taylor and Francis
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/187752019-03-07T12:22:14Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Exploring Zimbabwe’s Traditional Transitional Justice Mechanisms
Benyera, Everisto
Transitional Justice. Ngozi. Healing. Nyaradzo. Guva. Nhimbe
Before the institutionalisation of Rwanda’s gacaca courts, transitional justice was predominantly viewed as a western concept which was more legal and punitive. This paper positions traditional transitional justice mechanisms currently at work in Zimbabwe as viable concomitants in the field of justice, healing and reconciliation. Through a case study of Gokwe District in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe the study discusses the various grassroots mechanisms used in Zimbabwe to achieve restorative and dignified healing and reconciliation to both the victim and the offender. The paper concluded that for transitional justice to achieve healing, closure, and reconciliation; it requires bottom-up and victim centred mechanisms; familiar to both the victim and the offender.
2015-07-03T10:23:32Z
2015-07-03T10:23:32Z
2014-12
Article
Benyera, E. 2014. Exploring Zimbabwe’s Traditional Transitional Justice Mechanisms. Journal of Social Sciences. Volume 41, Number 3., pp 335-344.
0971-8923
http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18775
en
Kamla-Raj
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/199302022-07-11T09:58:25Zcom_10500_23650com_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_23651col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Africa in international relations: agent, bystander or victim?
Van Wyk, Jo-Ansie
Africa
International relations
Nuclear
Pelindaba Treaty
Victim
Agent
Bystander
The purpose of this contribution is three-fold. Firstly, it attempts to survey some academic literature on African victimhood in contemporary international relations. Secondly, it attempts to dismiss the notion of Africa as a passive bystander and a victim in international relations by illustrating African agency in international relations; especially in nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy where the continent continues to impact on the global agenda in the run-up to the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The choice of this case study is deliberate as this is an area where the continent has made important contributions which are explained below. Finally, the contribution attempts to indicate African contributions to the study of International Relations (IR), and how this can be integrated into the universal study of IR.
2016-02-17T07:45:53Z
2016-02-17T07:45:53Z
2016
Book chapter
978138909786
http://hdl.handle.net/10500/19930
en
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/308972024-02-27T15:20:47Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Cape Town's “Day Zero” water crisis: A manufactured media event?
Warner, Jeroen
Meissner, Richard
Drought crisis
Day Zero
Cape Town
Crisis construction
Day Zero was a purposefully designed narrative in political communication to change middle-class water consumption
behaviour in a highly visible metropolitan context of persistent drought. As an “affective fact”, however
it didn’t so much elicit panic, but elicited a sense of fun and social solidarity in many.
The unfeasibly precise prediction of water ‘running out’ the campaign obscured scientific uncertainties. In this
context the contribution considers the role of ‘public’ scientists as highly visible authorities reinforcing or
nuancing the Day Zero narrative. While the crisis narrative inevitably showed up rifts in South Africa’s social
fabric, and triggered protests against an underlying everyday crisis of water penury for marginalised urbanites.
Our perspective is informed by documentary and press analysis, as well as a Focus Group Discussion with the
South African National Press Club held on October 31, 2019.
2024-02-27T15:20:47Z
2024-02-27T15:20:47Z
2021-07-17
Article
J.F. Warner, R. Meissner, Cape Town's “Day Zero” water crisis: A manufactured media event?, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (2021), doi: https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102481.
2212-4209
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102481
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30897
en
64;
Elsevier
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/135192022-07-12T10:45:08Zcom_10500_23650com_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1com_10500_18562col_10500_23651col_10500_3753col_10500_14521col_10500_18564
African political leadership
Swart, Gerrie
van Wyk, Jo-Ansie
Botha, Maryke
Africa
Leadership
Political leadership
A more holistic, in-depth, and incisive study of African political leadership has become an important part of scholarship in the study of political leadership.
This realization generates a number of critically important and related questions that the chapter will attempt to address: what is the state of the study of African political leadership? Which prominent scholars (internationally and on the African continent) have devoted significant time towards contributions in the field? Are there different approaches to the study of African political leadership that have been generated by scholars in the discipline? Has a sufficient amount of scholarship on African political leadership been generated to warrant speaking of different waves, schools, or traditions of scholarship in the study of African political leadership or is the study of African political leadership still in its infancy, consisting of only a few distinctive studies at present? It is essential to stress from the outset that this contribution will by no means represent an exhaustive account of the study of African political leadership. Instead a more modest objective which it will seek to achieve is to provide a primer on some salient and distinctive scholarship and studies already produced in various realms of African political leadership.
2014-05-30T09:50:52Z
2014-05-30T09:50:52Z
2014
Book chapter
978–0–19–965388–1
http://hdl.handle.net/10500/13519
en
Oxford University Press
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/309042024-02-29T08:31:54Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Considering the “other” in wildlife crime mitigation: A South African strategy case study
Meissner, Richard
Gonçalves, Duarte P
Wildlife trafficking
other/others/othered
strategy
causal mechanism
rhino poaching
National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking
Actors’ worldviews are critical when developing strategies; not every actor holds the same problem perception and solution. This is the case with wildlife trafficking. Not only does the state have an interest in safeguarding South Africa’s wildlife, but other non-state actors, such as conservation interest groups, are also participants. These are some of the ‘visible’ actors with ‘power’. There also exists ‘invisible’ actors seemingly without ‘power’, such as the local communities living around conservation areas, and the wildlife itself. Poachers and crime syndicates, on the other hand, poach wildlife, such as rhino, and are ‘drivers’ of wildlife trafficking and trade. In this article, a methodology towards a deeper understanding of actors’ causal mechanism perspectives is presented. This methodology highlights the interplay between agential, ideational, material, and structural causal mechanisms and their operationalisation. Linear cause and effect relations are not the only causal types. An alternative approach, that can assist researchers and policy makers, as well as practitioners, to develop more nuanced strategies than those derived from linear causality, is advocated. The case study used in the research was the National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking. The authors’ intention is to show that the ‘othered’ influences the perspectives of the powerful and that the ‘othered’ is an important component to consider when developing policies and strategies.
2024-02-29T08:31:54Z
2024-02-29T08:31:54Z
2022-01-17
Article
Meissner, R. and Gonçalves, D. 2021. Considering the “other” in wildlife crime mitigation: A South African strategy case study. Acta Criminologica: African Journal of Criminology & Victimology, 34(2).
1012-8093
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30904
en
34;2
Criminoligal Society of Africa (CRIMSA)
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/187672019-03-07T12:20:39Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
The Contribution of Mass Graves to Healing and Closure: The Case of Chibondo in Mt Darwin, Zimbabwe
Benyera, Everisto
exhumations, mass grave, Chibondo, Zimbabwe, closure, healing and closure.
The contribution of mass graves to healing and closure has not been fully investigated, especially regarding what kind of contribution mass graves can make to healing and closure, truth finding and apportioning accountability for gross violations of human rights. This article broadly discusses national healing by analysing how human remains discovered at William Monkey Mine at Chibondo farm in Mt Darwin District of Zimbabwe were handled. The article argues that the manner in which the mass grave was handed by the various stakeholders was tantamount to a travesty of justice which deprived the nation in general and the families of those who disappeared in particular an opportunity to learn about, inter alia, the victims’ causes and time of death. This discussion concludes by noting that the manner in which the Chibondo mass grave was handled set a bad precedent for other mass graves, both discovered and undiscovered within and outside the borders of Zimbabwe.
2015-07-03T06:32:15Z
2015-07-03T06:32:15Z
2014-03
Article
Benyera, E. 2014. The Contribution of Mass Graves to Healing and Closure: The Case of Chibondo in Mt Darwin, Zimbabwe. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Volume 4, Number 1, pp. 47-56
2250-3226
http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18767
en
Research India Publications
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/308992024-02-28T09:54:28Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Indigenous paradiplomacy and the Orokawe hydroelectric dam on the Kunene River
Meissner, Richard
Warner, Jeroen
ideational power
Namibia
OvaHimba
OvaZemba
paradiplomacy
transboundary river basin
What role can non-diplomats play in managing and altering
power relations in transboundary river basins? We answer this by investigating
the lobbying eff orts of indigenous peoples to stop the construction
of the planned Orokawe (Baynes) dam on the Kunene River. The
Kunene River forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia
with several concluded treaties in place. These treaties set the context
of bilateral state diplomacy concerning the allocation and management
of a transboundary water resource. The theoretical foundation of our investigation
are ideational power conceptualizations and practice theory.
We discuss the employment of ideational power in transboundary rivers
with numerous practices, such as lobbying and transnational network
development. This article argues that actors consciously practice power
during transboundary water diplomacy.
2024-02-28T09:54:28Z
2024-02-28T09:54:28Z
2021-03-01
Article
https://doi.org/10.3167/reco.2021.110103
2152-9078
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30899
en
11;1
Berghan Publishers
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/309052024-02-29T08:36:11Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Green policies are in place for South Africa’s major port city: but a key piece is missing
Meissner, Richard
Green infrastructure
Ecological infrastructure
eThekwini Municipality
Epistocracy
Group-think
2024-02-29T08:36:11Z
2024-02-29T08:36:11Z
2022-04-21
Technical Report
https://theconversation.com/green-policies-are-in-place-for-south-africas-major-port-city-but-a-key-piece-is-missing-181272
2201-5639
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30905
en
The Conversation
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/309072024-02-29T08:47:47Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation: A Comparative Analysis of Reports Produced for Local Governments in South Africa and South East Queensland, Australia
Meissner, Richard
Climate change
Adaptation
Paradigm
Theory
Leadership
Policy
Climate change is dominating social, political and economic agendas. Because of the salience of the issue, scientists, researchers and consultants have developed a plethora of climate adaptation strategies. In this article I analyse two such strategies: Adapting South African Cities and Towns: A Local Government Guide to Climate Change Adaptation Planning by Ziervogel and Methner; and Climate Change Vulnerability in South East Queensland: A Spatial and Sectoral Assessment by Choy et al. For this analysis I utilised the PULSE3 analytical framework. My analysis indicated that the two adaptation strategies were predominantly positivist in scientific orientation. Other paradigms and theories are also applicable in explaining the issue of climate change and how to adapt to it.
2024-02-29T08:46:48Z
2024-02-29T08:46:48Z
2023-03-01
Article
Meissner, Richard. 2022. “Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation: A Comparative Analysis of Reports Produced for Local Governments in South Africa and South East Queensland, Australia”. Politeia 41 (1 & 2):21 pages. https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6689/4929.
2663-6689
https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6689/4929
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30907
en
41;1&2
Unisa Press
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/273402021-05-19T12:58:04Zcom_10500_23650com_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_23651col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Is the International Criminal Court Unfairly Targeting Africa? Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean States
Benyera, Everisto
International Criminal Court; decoloniality; transitional justice; Africa; Latin American and the Caribbean; war crimes; Rome statute
Africa, Latin America and Caribbean countries share many common features including a history of colonisation, the ongoing fight against human rights abuses and the resultant pursuance of sustainable peace and justice. One of the tools at these countries’ disposal is the International Criminal Court (ICC) where these two blocks are experiencing different fortunes. Except for the Georgia case, all the other cases dealt with by the ICC were from Africa and the court is yet to open an investigation in Latin America and the Caribbean, a situation which allows for lessons for the latter to be drawn from the former’s relationship with the ICC. Using the decolonial perspective I argue that the targeting of Africa by the ICC is part of the colonial project which started with slavery and is now in the coloniality phase. The conclusion is that willingly or unwillingly, the way the ICC has treated Africa is tantamount to targeting. This perception can only be changed if the ICC successfully opened new cases elsewhere, especially in the west.
2021-05-19T12:58:04Z
2021-05-19T12:58:04Z
2019-03-03
Article
Benyera, E. 2018. Is the International Criminal Court Unfairly Targeting Africa? Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean States, Politeia. 37(1): DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/0256-8845/2403.
http://hdl.handle.net/10500/27340
en
Politeia
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/136302022-05-23T12:28:10Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa : the politics of hosting a mega international event
Van Wyk, Jo-Ansie
South Africa
FIFA
FIFA World Cup
Soccer
Event management
Event
South African Government
Guarantees
Politics
This introductory article to this special edition starts with the premise that mega international events are inherently political in nature. South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is not exception in this regard. The article traces the guarantees expected by FIFA, South Africa’s compliance with these requirements, the expectations pertaining to the event, as well as the rhetoric of the event.
2014-07-11T12:24:01Z
2014-07-11T12:24:01Z
2014-07-11
Article
Van Wyk, J. (2008). The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa: The politics of hosting a mega international event. World Journal of Managing Events, 2(1) 1-9
1991-1238
http://hdl.handle.net/10500/13630
en
© 2008 World Research Organization. All rights reserved
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/308962024-02-27T15:15:21Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape: research paradigms, theories and epistocrats
Meissner, Richard
Research paradigms
Social theories
eThekwini
Ecological infrastructure
Green infrastructure
The purpose of this paper is to indicate how dominant research paradigms, social theories,
and an epistocracy influence the governance of green and ecological infrastructures
within a South African local government context. Paradigms and theories play an important
constituting role that (local) government actors and institutions actively and subconsciously
promote within the green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape. Research
conducted by the author indicates that epistemic actors within the eThekwini Metropolitan
Municipality, South Africa, use paradigms and theories to promote green and ecological
infrastructures, as materialities, coupled with climate change adaptation and mitigation and
water governance and security aspirations. I conclude that an epistocracy is active in the
municipality and that it promotes the development and implementation of the infrastructure
types through a positivist paradigm and accompanied theories. In this article, I will
report on a two-year study that investigated eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure
policy landscape.
2024-02-27T15:15:21Z
2024-02-27T15:15:21Z
2022-01-23
Article
Meissner, R. eThekwini’s green and ecological infrastructure policy landscape: research paradigms, theories and epistocrats. Int Environ Agreements 22, 543–560 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-021-09557-0
1573-1553
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-021-09557-0
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30896
en
22;3
Springer
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/187742019-03-07T12:17:05Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
An Exploration of the Impact of Zimbabwe’s 2005 Operation Murambatsvina on Women and Children
Benyera, Everisto
Nyere, Chidochashe
Zimbabwe, Operation Murambatsvina, women and children, victimisation and discrimination
The article considers the impact of an urban clean-up exercise which was carried out by the Zimbabwe government in 2005. It focuses mainly on the impact of the exercise on urban women and children. The methodology of the article is predominantly literature review, and the major findings are that the Zimbabwean state has a long history of targeting and victimising women. Officially known as Operation Restore Order, Operation Murambatsvina was a police-led operation to rid the urban cities of informal structures, both housing and business. However, human rights activists argue that it was a covert operation targeting voters who had shown a preference for the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The ensuing demolition of structures designated illegal had devastating effects on the family unit and, as this article argues, violated the core tenets of sovereignty. The state solution to the demolition, which was in the form of another operation known as Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle, was a failure as it lacked a genuine, legitimate and ethical authority and the political will to remedy the situation caused by Operation Murambatsvina. The paper concludes by noting that the government of Zimbabwe, through its continued and consistent operations that specifically target and affect women, perpetuates male dominance, patriarchy and discrimination against women and children in Zimbabwe.
2015-07-03T10:23:07Z
2015-07-03T10:23:07Z
2015-06
Article
Benyera, E and Nyere, C. 2015. An Exploration of the Impact of Zimbabwe’s 2005 Operation Murambatsvina on Women and Children. Gender & Behaviour. Volume 13, Number 1, pp 6522-6534.
1596-9231
http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18774
en
Ife Centre for Psychological Studies/Services, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/308952024-02-27T15:08:44Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Nexus disrupted: Lived realities and the water-energy-food nexus from an infrastructure perspective
Bruns, Antje
Meisch, Simon
Ahmed, Abubakari
Meissner, Richard
Romero-Lankao, Patricia
Political Ecology
Heterogeneous Infrastructure
Resource Governanc
Practices
Nexus Configurations
In recent years, the water-energy-food nexus gained traction in science and policy debates to address the relationships
between water, energy and food sectors. Inspired by Political Ecology thinking, we advocate for a
nexus understanding that acknowledges the political nature of the concept and points to lived and experienced
nexus realities. We draw on literature from heterogeneous infrastructures, giving attention to the socio-material
entanglements that configure a nexus dynamically over time and space. We substantiate our conceptual arguments
based on three different cases from Sub-Saharan Africa, that reveal the ways in which people access,
maintain or disrupt infrastructure that links water, energy, and food systems. This may occur through practice
forms of tinkering or improvisation of infrastructural components, intermediate (decentralised) technologies,
through theft, or through some form of self-empowerment. Methodologically, the role of practices is emphasized
as they help to understand Nexus heterogeneity and disparate forms of agency to (re-)configure a nexus.
The findings demonstrate that the nexus is not just there but is constantly in-the-making. Practices stabilise,
build, or alter differentiated nexus configurations within uneven nexus in/securities. Moreover, this article
disrupts a “one-size-fits-all” nexus concept by offering a nuanced understanding of nexus realities that are more
complex, heterogeneous, and plural than commonly described. Our analysis shows that re-thinking the nexus by
focusing on people and practices draws the attention towards agency and change – and thus enables to identify
leverage themes rendering a more just nexus.
2024-02-27T15:08:39Z
2024-02-27T15:08:39Z
2022-05-27
Article
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.05.007. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718522000999)
0016-7185
1872-9398
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30895
en
133;
Elsevier
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/309002024-02-28T10:08:11Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
State capture’s impact on South African water sector reform
Meissner, Richard
State capture
water
policy reforms
water management
South Africa
Water resources
Water sector
Corruption
Water law
Environmental flow
Politics
South Africa's water laws and reform policies were once the envy of the world. Today, water infrastructure is deteriorating rapidly and millions more people have no access to a clean water supply than was the case a few years ago. What has happened?
2024-02-28T10:03:41Z
2024-02-28T10:03:41Z
2021-04-15
Unpublished Research
https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/blog/sa
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30900
en
Water Alternatives Forum;
Water Alternatives
oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/308982024-02-27T15:31:15Zcom_10500_3752com_10500_14513com_10500_13602com_10500_1col_10500_3753col_10500_14521
Southern African transboundary waters: Non-state actors in the Inkomati- Usuthu water management area and the Okavango river basin
Meissner, Richard
Transboundary waters
Usuthu River
Inkomati River
Non-state actors
Catchment management agency
2024-02-27T15:31:15Z
2024-02-27T15:31:15Z
2024-01-29
Book chapter
Meissner, R., Southern African transboundary waters: Non-state actors in the Inkomati-Usuthu water management area and the Okavango river basin. In New Perspectives on Transboundary Water Governance (pp. 81-98). Routledge.
9781003333678
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30898
en
Taylor & Francis