Rising from global disruption
- Bridget Hilton-Barber
South Africa’s constitutional principles set us apart from the rest of the world, providing us with a foundation that enables us to navigate a disrupted world.
In the swirling chaos of our disrupted world - where climate crises collide with technological revolutions, where democracy battles authoritarianism on multiple fronts – South Africa stands at a crossroads that could define the next two decades of its existence.
The question is not whether the world will continue to convulse with change. It will. The question is whether South Africa can harness these very disruptions that are fracturing other nations and forge them into the foundation of something unprecedented: a more equal, more prosperous nation that finally fulfills the promise of its post-apartheid constitution.
"If we can come together and find a way to answer in the affirmative then it is likely that a new, more equal and prosperous South African nation can arise in the next 20 years," says Dr Kenneth Creamer from Wits' School of Economics and Finance.
The stakes have never been higher – or the opportunity more tangible.
Three disruptions, one moment
While other nations stumble under the weight of global transformation, South Africa finds itself uniquely positioned to navigate what Creamer identifies as three interconnected disruptions reshaping our world: the energy transition towards lower-cost, lower-carbon power; the digital revolution driven by artificial intelligence and a geopolitical realignment that's redrawing the map of global influence.
"Change is constantly present but sometimes the rate of change accelerates and it is such a period that is currently underway,” explains Creamer.
Each disruption carries both peril and promise for South Africa. The energy transition could accelerate the country's move away from coal dependency while creating new industries. The digital revolution might leapfrog traditional economic barriers but it could also deepen inequality. Geopolitical shifts offer opportunities for new partnerships across Africa and beyond, yet risk alienating traditional allies.
The challenge is integration – weaving these transitions together in a way that creates jobs rather than destroys them, that builds bridges rather than walls.
A world in chaos
The global context makes South Africa's moment even more remarkable. Professor Alex van den Heever, Chair of Social Security Systems Administration at Wits' School of Governance, paints a stark picture: "The USA remains unstable, China is stronger than ever, Russia is the great destabiliser and Europe is in the corner".
America, once the beacon of democratic stability, finds itself consumed by what Prof. van den Heever calls "a form of craziness" that previous checks and balances would have prevented. He says that the change in the USA’s relationship to the rest of the world and South Africa has been a long time coming. Since the events of 9/11, the situation in the USA has been fraught and is creating chaos, both internally and in global relations. It’s related to the considered attacks on democracy and is essentially their form of state capture driven by the Heritage Foundation, the Republican conservative think tank.”
The Heritage Foundation leads Project 2025, an extensive plan that includes appointing ideologically aligned civil servants, restricting abortion access, opposing LGBTQIA+ rights, transforming federal agencies for political purposes and imposing strict immigration policies. “It is uncertain as to whether they will succeed – but they are trying,” says Van den Heever.
Meanwhile, cheap high-tech weapons are changing the nature of warfare, as evidenced in the Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks deep inside Russia. Social media has weaponised information, making truth itself a casualty of political manipulation. Technology-driven consolidation concentrates wealth and power in fewer hands.
"We are in an era characterised by a massive struggle between democracy and authoritarianism," says John Stremlau, Honorary Professor of International Relations at Wits. "The outcome is uncertain."
The South African advantage
Yet in this global chaos, South Africa possesses something increasingly rare: a Constitution that enshrines the very principles that other nations are abandoning.
"The aspects that Trump is trying to erode are enshrined in our very own Constitution and South Africa is reaffirming its basic principles," says Stremlau.
This is not mere idealism. South Africa's commitment to non-aligned but principled foreign relations has earned the country international respect. It’s emphasis on equality over sovereignty provides a moral foundation that could attract new partnerships as other nations retreat into nationalist isolation.
The country's experience with transition – from apartheid to democracy – has created institutional knowledge around managing profound change. It’s position as Africa's most developed economy, combined with its constitutional commitment to equality, offers a unique platform for leadership.
The critical questions
Principles alone won't secure the future. South Africa faces concrete challenges that will determine whether this moment becomes a launchpad or a missed opportunity.
Can the country integrate energy, digital and geopolitical transitions into economic policies that create jobs rather than eliminate them? Can it build new African and global partnerships without alienating historical trading partners? Can it overcome the legacy of apartheid while navigating the complexities of a multipolar world?
"These global disruptions present a particular set of challenges, opportunities and questions to be answered for South Africa, still suffering in the long shadow of apartheid and gamely trying to find its feet as a constitutional democracy," observes Creamer.
The answers will require more than government action. They demand what Stremlau calls "agency, community-led governance and decentralised adaptive solutions to shared global challenges like climate change, displacement and resource scarcity".
A nation's choice
History rarely offers such clear moments of possibility. Stremlau quotes the 20th Century scholar, Arnold Toynbee who said: "History is one damn thing after another". Stremlau explains: “The disrupted global world order is not the end of history – it is just that we are in a state of great flux.”
Sometimes those "damn things" can align to create unprecedented opportunity.
South Africa's choice is stark: it can allow global disruptions to deepen existing fractures or it can use them as raw material for reconstruction. It can retreat into the comfort of familiar problems or step forward into the uncertainty of transformative solutions.
"If South Africa can weather its many domestic problems, while carrying out enviable non-aligned but principled foreign relations, perhaps the USA can get beyond ‘King Donald’,” suggests Stremlau. “South Africa's success could model possibilities for other struggling democracies.”
The disrupted world order is not the end of history. It is the beginning of whatever comes next. South Africa, with its hard-won wisdom about transition, its constitutional commitment to equality and its strategic position in a changing world has the chance to help write that next chapter.
Stremlau reminds us that the struggles to build democracy are endless. However, endless does not mean hopeless. Sometimes disruption creates the very conditions that democracy needs to flourish.
- Bridget Hilton-Barber is a freelance writer.
- This article first appeared in?Curiosity,?a research magazine produced by?Wits Communications?and the?Research Office.
- Read more in the 19th issue, themed #Disruption, which explores the crises, tech, research, and people shaking up our world in 2025.