Focus

Focus is the journal of the HSF. It is used as a forum for public debate and adds new, fresh voices to the policy dialogue. Focus consists of articles and book reviews by academics, public intellectuals, researchers, and policy experts. Focus is published in digital form and is made available for free here on the HSF website.
Focus 61 - Arts and Culture
Author: Helen Suzman Foundation
Published: 20 Jun 2011
This edition of Focus is dedicated to Arts and Culture. The question may well be posed as to why an organisation whose mandate is the promotion of liberal constitutional democracy should be spending time and resources on the Arts. At the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF), we believe that the development of both human and social capital is central to the tasks of building a society where both individual excellence and community development are valued.
template-chapters
Focus 60 - January 2011 - Making South Africa Work: Rules of the Game
Author: Helen Suzman Foundation
Published: 10 Jan 2011
This edition of Focus continues with the theme of ‘Making South Africa Work’, first explored in the previous edition where issues surrounding Human Capital Development were addressed. This edition surveys aspects of regulation and their impact on the economy and society.
template-chapters
Focus 58 - September 2010 - South Africa and the Changing World
Author: Helen Suzman Foundation
Published: 10 Sep 2010
The previous edition of Focus, dedicated to commemorating 100 years of Statehood, had as its theme, Change and Continuity. This theme of change and continuity could also characterise this edition of Focus, which is dedicated to South Africa and the Changing World.
template-chapters
Focus 57 - May 2010 - Change and Continuity: 100 Years of Statehood
Author: Helen Suzman Foundation
Published: 10 May 2010
This edition of Focus is dedicated to a series of reflections about 100 years of statehood in South Africa. In my invitation to contributors, I pointed out that the political events which led to Union are well documented and widely known; so was the deliberate marginalisation of the majority of South Africans during the deliberations that led to the establishment of Union in 1910. Indeed, it was this marginalisation which led to the formation of the ANC in 1912, and it was only after some 84 years after the foundation of the state, that a constitutional and political ‘normalisation’ and legitimacy were achieved.
template-chapters
Focus 56 - February 2010 - On Learning and Teaching
Author: Helen Suzman Foundation
Published: 10 Feb 2010
In keeping with the Foundation’s stated policy of seeking to offer a platform for both seasoned commentators and new and marginalised voices, we present this edition of Focus on Learning and Teaching. The Foundation works from the premise that education is not only an important developmental issue, but is also a human rights issue. Beyond the central concern of personal growth, our social development and, crucially, our long-term economic development is dependent on the acquisition and availability of suitable and appropriate skills. Arguably the major constraint confronting South Africa’s growth trajectory has always been its poor human capital base.
template-chapters
Focus 55 - November 2009 - Images of Justice
Author: Helen Suzman Foundation
Published: 10 Nov 2009
‘Justice’ is a protean concept. ‘Law and order’ are maintained by governments and ruling elites in its name. Revolutions and popular insurrections are conducted under its legitimating aegis.
template-chapters
Focus 40 - 4th Quarter 2005
Author: Helen Suzman Foundation
Published: 28 Nov 2005
Mbeki's credibility is on the line: Editorial. Israel is a democracy in which Arabs vote: Benjamin Pogrund disagrees with those who describe Israel as an apartheid state and labels their views as facile.
template-chapters
Focus 39 - 3rd Quarter 2005
Author: Helen Suzman Foundation
Published: 28 Aug 2005
Mbeki's last chance on Zimbabwe: Editorial. Black advancement: hype outstrips reality: Lawrence Schlemmer investigates the rise of the black middle class and concludes that it is still relatively small.
template-chapters