Dear SAAPS Members

Whilst we await the activation of our SAAPS website, which in future will serve as a major SAAPS channel of communication with and amongst members, I am happy to bring you the following updates about SAAPS activities and projects.

WEBSITE:

We have finished a design for an interim website and trust that it will be fully functional within two weeks. Besides general information about SAAPS, the site will host newsletters, project updates, other updates from the executive committee and/or Council, membership news, forthcoming events, seminar news, etc. We are also aiming at interactive site features. Pieter Fourie will assume responsibility for weekly updates of the website.

SAAPS SEPTEMBER 2005 COLLOQUIUM:

Many of you will be aware that the SAAPS biennial research colloquium will take place in Pietermaritzburg from September 22 to September 23 2005. The hosts will be Political Science, Pietermaritzburg, in the School of Politics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Panel and paper proposals should please be submitted by 28 July 2005.

Submissions should be made to Ms Kathy Acutt, Acutt@ukzn.ac.za , or Political Science, School of Politics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville 3209.

Thank you to Ufo Uzodike and his Pietermartizburg colleagues for this great gesture to be the host. To all members, please support the colloquium. We look forward to seeing you in Pietermaritzburg!

SAAPS STUDENT PROMOTION PROJECTS:

SAAPS has a modest project in place for the promotion of student participation in congresses and colloquia. We shall be making certain amounts available to assist approximately five students who are interested in presenting papers to attend the SAAPS colloquium. We shall be bringing you more details soon.

In the interim we kindly request departments to make details of the colloquium available to students who might be interested in participating, and, as far as possible, to help facilitate their participation.

SAAPS 2006 BIENNIAL CONGRESS:

We are also happy to announce that the Exco has accepted the offer from the University of the Western Cape to host next year's biennial SAAPS congress. Thank you to Keith Gottschalk and his UWC colleagues. Tentative dates will be available soon, but we anticipate that it will be mid-year, rather than September/October, 2006.

COOPERATIVE SAAPS SEMINAR SERIES:

In our April Exco meeting we decided to proceed with the seminar project in which SAAPS provides a modest financial contribution to Departments or, for example, institutes, to host seminar series jointly with SAAPS. In an experimental phase, SAAPS acted as joint host with the School of Politics, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.

It was a successful experiment and we now invite all Departments, institutes, etc. to join in what we hope may become a wave of seminars across South Africa, with the objective of raising academic engagement, and simultaneously lifting the SAAPS profile and extending membership.

We provide sponsorship of R300 for hosting Political Studies seminars under the joint auspices of SAAPS and the host department / institution. This small amount of funding may be used at the discretion of the seminar organisers. For example, it may be used for refreshments or for student / administrative assistance in arranging the seminar/s. The details and conditions are: For an approved seminar (e-mail the secretary treasurer or Gampi Matheba with broad details and request approval), SAAPS grants the amount of R300 in general support money. These funds may be spent at the host's discretion (refreshments, assistance, etc.). The conditions are the following:

• The seminar must be announced / advertised as a joint effort of the local department / institute and SAAPS;
• SAAPS membership forms must be on display and there must be appropriate encouragement for new members to join (we shall provide you with the membership forms);
• The seminars should encourage participation (either as presenters or as audience participants) from emerging scholars and/or students.

SAAPS BOOK PROJECT:

We are currently in contact with several interested publishers. We have agreement on soliciting contributions from members / inviting members to submit proposals for chapters. The themes will be South African politics/political economy and the book will position this dual theme in the context of Southern African politics and political economy. I have been tasked with driving this project. I shall be bringing you more details soon. We also anticipate having panels and/or round tables in relation to the book at the September colloquium.

EMERGING SCHOLARS PROJECT:

At our last Exco meeting we gave the go-ahead for a data-base on emerging scholars to be compiled, in order for SAAPS to be proactively involved in the advancement of, and support for, emerging scholars. Lubna Nadvi will be driving this project.

SAAPS AT AAPS, JUNE 2005 IN CAIRO:

Apart from the fact that quite a number of SAAPS members will be attending the AAPS congress, we also had a proposal accepted for the SAAPS panel at AAPS. The panel theme is "The 2004-2005 Round of Elections in Southern Africa: Successes, Contradictions and Anomalies". The presenters are:

Susan Booysen (NMMU)

Liberation movement governments and liberal democracy at crossroads and cross-purposes? A comparative study.

Khabele Matlosa (EISA)

Challenges of Electoral Democracy in Southern Africa: Whither SADC Principles and Guidelines governing Democratic Elections?

Victor Ojakorotu and Ufo Okeke Uzodike (UKZN)

In the Eye of the Storm: International Reactions and Implications of the 2005 Zimbabwe Elections

Omano Edigheji and Ebrahim Fakir (CPS)

Ideological Contestation and Consolidation: The 2004 Democratic Elections in South Africa.

Several other projects are in the pipeline, and we shall be reporting further progress soon.

With best wishes from myself and the SAAPS Executive Committee.

Prof Susan Booysen

President, South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS)