Discussion on Social Cohesion in Africa at a Book Launch Seminar in South Africa

The JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development and the University of Cape Town jointly hosted a seminar to celebrate the launch of a book titled “From Divided Pasts to Cohesive Futures: Reflections on Africa” at the University of Cape Town on Feb. 20, 2020. The book is the third major outcome of a joint research project by the JICA Ogata Research Institute and Kobe University called “Ethnic Diversity and Economic Instability in Africa.”

The book consists of 13 chapters written by over 20 historians, economists, and political scientists in total, edited by Hino Hiroyuki, a visiting research scholar at Duke University (a former professor at Kobe University and a visiting scholar at the University of Cape Town); Arnim Langer, professor at KU Leuven; John Lonsdale, professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge; and Frances Stewart, professor emeritus at the University of Oxford. The book looks back at the history of social cohesion in Africa’s multiethnic societies and offers prospects for the future.

The keynote address was delivered by Stanley Henkeman, executive director of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, a think tank that has been tackling the issue of social cohesion in South Africa for years. He started the lecture by pointing out that, for the due estimation of the severity of the challenge to achieve social coherence in South Africa, it is critically important to recall the “distant past” of the colonial period in which de-humanization of indigenous people by the Western colonizers took place. According to him, the resultant deeply entrenched attitude and unquestioned beliefs are still the “default” in the country. Then he proposed what should be done in the future to depart from the exclusive past and to make a “precarious journey” to the inclusive future. According to him, it is necessary to problematize hidden aspects of politics, problematize taken-for-granted economic discourses, and face uncomfortable things. “Don’t be afraid of taking bold steps, no matter how uncertain the future is,” he said.

During the closing session, Hino and Stewart commented on the discussions that had taken place during the seminar. Hino emphasized the importance of analyzing social cohesion not only from an objective macro-economic perspective, such as the Gini coefficient, but also from a perspective of subjective inequality as perceived by the people in the workplace and other aspects of their daily lives. He also underlined the importance of trust among the people to avoid the “tragedy of the commons”, and proposed the research to investigate how a measure like Kaizen can enhance workers’ trust and corporate cohesion. He concluded by saying that social cohesion will lead to productivity improvements and thus enrich people’s lives. Stewart pointed out the danger of horizontal inequality that destroys trust between people and entrenches exclusive identity, based on the comparative analysis of polyethnic states struggling to achieve social cohesion. She also noted that social cohesion is complex in nature and difficult to maintain, and stressed how important it is for citizens to continue monitoring their government’s policies.

Lastly, Professor Murray Leibbrandt of the University of Cape Town and Shiga gave summaries of the discussions to conclude the seminar.