Trade unions and democracy in South Africa: Union organizational challenges and solidarities in a time of transformation

Based on a nationwide survey, this article focuses on the perceptions of COSATU members on two of the central issues that have dominated debates on the South African labour movement: the advisability of COSATU’s Alliance with the ANC and the extent of internal union democracy. The survey revealed that the ANC-Alliance continues to enjoy mass support, whilst internal democracy remains robust. At the same time, the federation faces the challenges of coping with – and contesting - neo-liberal reforms, retaining and reenergizing rank and file in the post-apartheid era, and in reaching out to potential members in the informal sector and other areas of insecure work

Sport, social change and the public intellectual

This article argues that the role of the public intellectual in sport is desperately needed. The research for the article draws upon key interviews and newspaper reports. The paper examines three questions: (i) What is the role of the public intellectual in sport? (ii) Do we wish to encourage the role of the public intellectual in sport? (iii) How does one balance the objective of challenging unseen silences in sport with its potential transformative capacity to produce change (or at least be a resource for hope) in many communities. The challenge is for today’s sociologists of sport and others not to accept the narrow job description of the academic but instead to ensure that the social study of sport is one of these very public, visible forms of activity and engagement