Harassment of minorities and officials should be taken seriously

The US State Department’s statement on the alleged harassment of US officials by the South African government should be taken seriously. The growing diplomatic tensions between the South African and US governments indicate a radicalising South African state that is increasingly resorting to intimidation rather than accepting responsibility for the crises it has created. Instead of honestly confronting the underlying crises plaguing the country, criticism — both domestically and internationally — is being met with aggression and denial.

When a government targets minorities who are demanding that their basic freedoms be respected, and in this case even intimidates foreign officials, it indicates a deeper dispensational crisis. We are not dealing with a policy error or a communication problem. This is a structural problem. The South African state is increasingly showing the characteristics of a centralized power that no longer has the ability, legitimacy or authority to govern a complex and diverse society.

The answer to this crisis does not lie in denying the existence of the crisis, nor does it lie in calling for us to return to 1994, as if the “new South Africa” could simply be restarted. The past three decades have demonstrated, irrefutably and repeatedly, that a highly centralized state, driven by racial ideology and socialist policy frameworks, cannot ensure stability, prosperity or freedom.

Therefore, it is Lex Libertas' argument that the only sustainable solution lies in promoting a viable political order for South Africa. This should be based on the principle of self-governance, which necessarily entails that the political system must be decentralized.

Self-governance is not a radical or revolutionary idea; it is the antidote to such ideas. The premise that communities should manage their own affairs has been the basic principle of politics for centuries.

This necessarily implies decentralization: less power at a dysfunctional national center, and more powers for communities, regions and local structures. International experience repeatedly shows that federal, cantonal and other decentralized models are of particular importance in societies with high levels of diversity and friction.

When the US government — or any other international actor for that matter — applies pressure on South Africa, it should not be aimed at artificially keeping the existing ideological frameworks alive, because those frameworks are already doomed to fail. It must press in favor of a constitutional rearrangement whereby self-governance and freedom are promoted for the various communities of South Africa. The same principle applies to our own actions within South Africa itself: the goal is not destabilization, but neither is it to maintain a house built on sand with wishful thinking. It must be aimed at reform towards a sustainable dispensation, and to strengthen ourselves in the advancement of this goal.

Therefore, Lex Libertas will publish a series of comprehensive reports in early 2026 about the persecution and systemic marginalization of minorities in South Africa. These reports will not only document what is happening, but also serve as a foundation for an intensified campaign — both locally and internationally — for the promotion of self-government as a concrete, realistic and just solution.

The current trajectory of denial, intimidation and centralist control inevitably leads to greater conflict and isolation. The alternative is simple: instead of centralization, decentralization must be promoted; and instead of state dependence, self-government must be promoted.

This is the only viable way out.

It is this path that Lex Libertas will continue to consistently promote.

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