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In this article, I examine detritus as a central trope for post-transitional South African society, an idea that, I argue, has particular relevance for Ivan Vladislavić's second short story collection, Propaganda by Monuments. As a point of departure, I use Leon de Kock's idea of the \"democratic moment\" – the moment of radical globalization coinciding with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crumbling of apartheid bureaucracy. In this new \"democratic\" age, cultural detritus - remnants, fragments and addenda - begins to circulate and litter transnational contexts, finding its way into the unlikeliest of spaces, producing cultural resonances, echoes and cross-talk. In Propaganda by Monuments, detritus carries exotic charges of meaning, and allows for alternative ways of seeing the urban landscape in the new democratic era, in which the nation state has begun its process of dissipation. As such, Propaganda by Monuments can perhaps be read as a prelude to Vladislavić's third collection of stories, 101 Detectives, in which the detritus has been swept away, and polished surfaces are angled towards the protagonists, and the reader, narrowing their margins for subjectivity and self-styling.

Background: The topic of repatriation turnover as a major source of concern for repatriates and their multinational enterprise has been covered extensively in the literature over the years, with the literature showing that between 15% and 38% of repatriated expatriates leave the employment of their multinational enterprise within the first year after repatriation. However, no such study has focused on the repatriation of South African expatriates. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to determine if there is a correlation between the repatriation practices of South African multinational enterprises and their repatriation turnover rates. The secondary aim of the study was to determine why repatriated employees leave the employment of South African multinational enterprises. Method: This quantitative study surveyed 41 expatriate managers of South African multinational enterprises, with the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient being used to test for correlations between the repatriation practices of South African multinational enterprises and their repatriation turnover rates. Results: The results revealed positive correlations between appointing a mentor to an expatriate to assist with the repatriation process, conducting an orientation programme prior to repatriation and supporting the expatriate with various initiatives during repatriation and lower repatriation turnover rates. Meanwhile a negative correlation was found between when a multinational enterprise starts with an orientation programme prior to repatriation and repatriation turnover rates. Conclusion: These findings provide valuable insights for South African multinational enterprises into practices they can employ to reduce their repatriation turnover rates.

Expatriation has been extensively covered from a literature perspective, both international and locally. However, repatriation (as the final phase of expatriation) has received less attention, especially from the perspective of South African multinational enterprises (MNEs) that send expatriates abroad and have to manage their return to the home country upon completion of an assignment. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of repatriation from an enterprise perspective, with the objective of compiling and categorising guidelines for repatriation management. When the repatriation process is planned in advance and executed properly, the enterprise can expect the associated return on investment and establish a competitive advantage. Knowledge transfer of international skills and experience can take place, and the enterprise is able to build a cadre of international managers, allowing international mobility.A thorough literature review was carried out with the focus on international human resource management, expatriate management and repatriation and retention. The literature study was followed by the empirical study that employed an electronic survey method of data collection, distributed to 101 respondents. Results of 41 SA MNEs contributed to further data analysis. Based on the literature and the findings, the dissertation suggests that a phased approach to repatriation provides a well-defined and structured process to assist and guide the enterprise to manage repatriation. If executed properly, this should result in a reduction in costly repatriation turnover. This dissertation adds to existing knowledge about the employee repatriation process by contributing new insight and focus areas to aid SA MNEs to implement best practices for future international assignments.

Civil society organisations have and will be mentioned as partners, agents and autochthonous actors of social security. This has come about through advances in insurance products, through the kinds of social action engaged in by civil society organisations, and through the devolution of state power to citizens and civil society organisations. Rights to social security are decisively affected by the use of civil society organisations in the social policy field, and the implications of this use are investigated. This reality of the changing nature of social action needs to be brought to bear on human rights, if rights are to respond adequately to the concerns of injustice, inequality and poverty today. The thesis develops a framework within whichcivil society-based action could be made rights-based and justiciable, and which could guard against the retrogressive substitution of state action by civil society-based activity. Civil society-based action can be seen as upholding rights if it conforms to the fundamental requirements of human rights. These fundamental requirements derive from a performative conception of rights that sees the individual as subject of rights and as the fundamental actor of rights. This view of rights sees rights as dependent on the abilities and volition of all in society, and is presented as an alternative to a realist view of rights, as well as a view of rights as derived from basic human functionings. The intersection of this view of rights, the reality of non-state action for rights, and the legal discourse around socio-economic rights is the central problem that this thesis addresses. The legal discourse has only partially recognised this form of social action, and this thesis proposes a framework within which we may interpret and assess whether civil society action is indeed conducive to the realisation of rights. This framework includes democratic norms for conduct inside civil society organisations, for the interaction between civil society organisations and other actors, like the state and market, and also delineates the role of the court in this performative conception of rights. These interactions will shape the content, and nature of socio-economic rights, and here these insights are made applicable to the right to have access to social security in South Africa.The thesis discusses the suitability of South African civil society for this normative programme developed here. I analyse South African civil society, its historical role in transformation, in the current context, and its place in social and economic policy. There are ample opportunities for participation by civil society organisations in the further reform of the social security system. The realisation of novel ways to realise the right to have access to social security through civil society organisations for South Africans would depend on clarity on how civil society organisations could contribute to the enjoyment, realisation and performance of this right.The framework of accountability developed here has precedents and roots in law, civil society theory and in the discourse of social security. I analyse each, and I show how the social security discourse has incorporated civil society organisations in its historical development. Currently, it is a leading avenue for the further development of this discourse. However, this possibility – which intersects with the discourse of civil society – would depend on civil society being able to realise normative ends in its interaction with wider society. To gain clarity on this I analyse the civil society discourse, and critically point out problems that could stand in the way of this normative project. However, theorists of civil society have emphasised how this problem can be overcome; I draw on these writings to substantiate and legitimate the framework of accountability developed earlier. The realisation of this framework of accountability and action would enable civil society organisations to realise normative ends in society, and thus contribute to the realisation of rights. This vision of how rights could be realised is also discussed from a legal point of view, and I point out the features of the legal discourse that would support my thesis. The central objective of the thesis is to show that the South African constitution can support this reading of rights and the place of civil society action in its realisation.I engage in a construction of the South African Constitution in order to give greater support to my view of rights and what kind of social action we would want from civil society. In this reading, I emphasise the following: The need to respect the rights in the Bill of Rights points towards a view of rights dependent on the free volition of the subject of rights, and thus we may suppose that rights include an emphasis on autochthonous action. The free volition of the subject of rights, however, is dependent on the “rules of standing” and this creates a context of mutual accountability inside organisations towards its members, and a system of accountability of the organisation towards society in general. This supports my contention that the way to visualise civil society accountability for rights depends on a “social ecology” amongst the actors involved.The next part in this construction concerns the wording in the Constitution. The Constitution qualifies the socio-economic rights with the phrase “access to…” and I show that this does not imply a retrogressive or conservative view of rights. I show that it is consistent with a view of non-state actors as bearers of rights, and that it allows us to conceive of rights as performative. This in effect strengthens the ways society may be expected to realise rights. From here, three issues arise: what is the nature of socioeconomic rights? And, are civil society actors to be viewed as “organs of state” in the realisation of rights, and to what extent may we expect them to become subsidiary to the state in the realisation of rights? I point out that we need to re-think the doctrine of a core-content of rights if we see rights as performative. I conclude by clarifying to what extent we may see civil society organisations as such.

Deelname aan navorsing vir die ontwikkelingsproses se sukses hang af van die vermoe daarvan om magsverhoudings in die ontwikkelingsproses te verander. Die sentrale probleem wat hierdie studie aanspreek behels die vraag of deelname aan metodologiee en ontwikkeling die vermoe het om veranderinge in magsposisies te weeg te bring. 'n Gevallestudie van die Tshikonelo-besproeiingsprojek in die Noordelike Provinsie van die Agricultural Corporation of Venda (AGRIVEN), deesdae die Agricultural and Rural Development Corporation (Pty) Ltd. (ARDC Ltd), word gemaak. Hierdie gevallestudie identifiseer struikelblokke wat betrekking het op ontwikkelingsintervensies en wat kritiese fig werp op aansprake van deelnemende metodologiee. Daar word na die volgende metodologiee gekyk: Action Research, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), en die Akteursperspektief op landelike navorsing. Die ontstaan van metodologiee wat deelname aan navorsing gebruik kan teruggevoer word tot die gebruik van sosiaal-wetenskaplike insigte vir die ontwikkelingsproses. Gevolglik vereis deelname aan die ontwikkelingsproses insette van die sosiale wetenskappe vir deelnemende ontwikkeling om te gebeur. Hierdie vereiste problematiseer die rol van sosiaal-wetenskaplike kennis in ontwikkeling, aangesien die rol nie beperk kan word deur die konteks van die ontwikkelingsprojek nie, en die feit dat die kritiese funksie daarvan voorrang moet geniet. Action Research is relevant vir intervensie as daar saamgewerk kan word met ander soortgelyke projekte. Die fokuspunt hiervan sal wees die mate waarin Apartheid en die gepaardgaande strategic van \"afsonderlike ontwikkeling\" voortdurende invloed op die lewenswyses en boederytegnieke van die mense by die Tshikonelo-projek uitoefen. In die opsig kan dit gebruik word vir die disseminering van alternatiewe boerderytegnieke. Die waarde van hierdie benadering is gelee in die verandering wat dit in die groter landboubestel kan bewerkstellig. PRA word as positief bestempel omdat dit innoverende oplossings vir ontwildcelingsprobleme moontlik mask. Die werking daarvan hang af van faktore buite die grense van die projek, wat die ontvanklikheid van die navorsingsbestel vir deelname deur kleinboere insluit. Probleme met PRA word uitgelig wat parallelle het met die problematiek rondom die gebruik van sosiaal-wetenskaplike kennis vir die ontwikkelingsproses. Die Akteursperspektief se sterkte is gelee in die moontlikheid dat dit die onderliggende magsverhoudings en dinamika by hierdie projek ontbloot. As sodanig het dit 'n belangrike en eiesoortige rol te speel, vis-à-vis die ander metodologiee, wat betref intervensie by hierdie projek. 'n Debat tussen die metodologiee onder bespreking word gekonstrueer, wat die volgende behels: Die mate van homogeniteit van teikengroepe; die \"ontwikkelingsvisie\" wat deur deelnemende ontwikkeling geimpliseer word; en die identiteit van die gemeenskap wat verantwoordelik is vir die finale validasie van die kennis onder bespreking. \"Deelname\" as paradigma vir ontwikkeling moet in gemelde rigtings uitgebrei word om aan diepere metodologiese vereistes te voldoen. Deelname kan egter as 'n metodologiese innovasie gesien word aangesien die epistemiese gemeenskap wat verantwoordelik is vir die validasie van kennis vreemd is in vergelyking met die tradisionele wetenskaplike gemeenskap. Deelname as strategie in ontwikkeling bevoordeel die belange van die deelnemers aan ontwikkeling op twee maniere: Dit stet binne-in die navorsingsopset die deelnemers se belange bo die van die individuele wetenskaplike, en dit bevoordeel die belange van gemarginaliseerde groepe in die groter politieke ekonomie. Deelnemende