Books published by IDASA (Institute for Democracy in South Africa)

Since the collapse of apartheid, there have been major increases in migration flows within, to and from the Southern African region. Cross-border movements are at an all-time high across the region and internal migration is at record levels. The implications of greater mobility for areas of origin and destination have not been systematically explored. Migration is most often seen as a negative phenomenon, a result of increased poverty and the failure of development. More recently, the positive relationship between migration and development has been emphasised by agencies such as the Global Commission on International Migration, the Global Forum on Migration and Development, the United Nations Development Programme and the African Union. The chapters in this publication are all based on primary research and examine various facets of the relationship between migration, poverty and development, including issues that are often ignored in the migration-development debate like migration and food security and migration and vulnerability to HIV. The book argues that the development and poverty reduction potential of migration is being hindered by national policies that fail to recognise and build on the positive aspects and potential of migration. As a result, as these studies show, migrants are often pushed to the margins where they are forced to "survive on the move". Their treatment violates labour laws and basic human rights and compromises the potential of migration as a means to create sustainable livelihoods, reduce poverty and food insecurity, mitigate the brain drain and promote the productive use of remittances. This book shows that migrant lives and livelihoods should be at the centre of international and African debates about migration, poverty and development.

The Political Cost of AIDS in Africa provides comprehensive empirical evidence of the impact HIV/AIDS is having on politics and the electoral process. The latest publication to come out of an extensive study by Idasa and its research partners, this book reveals that the fledgling multi-party democracies in parts of the continent are being undermined by sickness, incapacity and premature deaths among elected leaders as well as within the electorate. The book suggests innovative and holistic responses to address these problems. A culmination of three years of exploratory studies by African researchers working under the auspices of Idasa, it demonstrates how AIDS is interwoven with the continent's ambitions for deepening democracy. With chapters on Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa, Senegal and Zambia, this study investigates: the attrition among elected political leaders and the costs of replacing them; the loss of elected representatives, its effect on constituencies, and the power dynamics in parliamentary structures and in democratic governance; the failure to maintain voter registers and how it affects the credibility of electoral outcomes; the effect of stigma and discrimination on political participation.

This multi-country and intercontinental study examines how the governments of four African counties - Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Namibia; and five Latin American countries - Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Nicaragua - are funding the fight against HIV/AIDS. The work is unprecedented as a compendium of data and research into government budget allocations for HIV/AIDS, conducted by civil society, research and NGO organisations within each country involved; and collated and appraised for comparative purposes between countries and across continents.