State of the Nation: South Africa 2005–2006 is the third in the Human Sciences Research Council’s annual volume of essays on aspects of contemporary politics, economics, society, and international relations in South Africa. This series has become an established part of the annual South African scholarly calendar.
As with the previous two editions, this volume draws together a wide and exciting set of analyses, written by contributors from universities, civil society organizations, and the media, as well as from the Human Sciences Research Council. This volume includes chapters on the state of land restitution, Parliament, South African soccer, the Chinese communities of South Africa, science and mathematics education, research and development, black economic empowerment, the labor market, and the informal economy. There are chapters on the emerging development state, the service delivery targets set by the president in 2004, the implementation of the socio-economic rights provisions of the Constitution, and South Africa’s growing economic involvement in Africa.