South Africa

Khroul V. Religion and humour in media: towards a conflict preventive normative model

This article proposes a theoretical framework for understanding and preventing conflicts arising from humorous media coverage of religion. Drawing on mediatisation theory, classical theories of humour, and comparative case analysis across three distinct socio-cultural contexts: Russia, Sweden and South Africa the paper argues that the relationship between media humour and religious sensibility is structurally predictable and normatively manageable. The article surveys recent international scholarship on the humour religion nexus in digital environments, identifies Russian cases as a distinctive regulatory archetype, and synthesises empirical material from both the Global South and the Nordic context into a coherent theoretical model. The paper concludes by arguing that a conflict preventive normative model is not merely desirable but theoretically grounded and empirically achievable, provided it is anchored in context-sensitive analysis of mutual expectations between media practitioners and religious communities.

Christensen C.S. Botswana: An African success story or not?

Sound macroeconomic policies and prudent use of diamond revenues have made Botswana one of the fastest growing economics in the world over the last 30 years. What depends the GDP per capita, Botswana is ranked in the middle-income status with 17,000 US-dollar per capita (like Brazil, Iran and Thailand). Despite the President Mokgweetsi Masis since 2018 and his government’s efforts, however, the economy remains highly dependent on diamond exports and tourism, and, furthermore, the country continues to suffer from one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world. Facts are, however, that Botswana has an enviable record of political stability and economic achievement. Economic growth has slowed recently to about 5%, but still remains satisfactory. In this article the question, is Botswana an African success story or not, will be attempted to be answered and furthermore, the future threats threatening the African country will be explained. For instance, about climate threats, environmental problems around mass tourism and how the importance of agriculture lost its importance in the last 25 years.