As we close out the year, we’re sharing our December newsletter—the last of four quarterly editions in 2025. Running through this issue is a persistent question: how do institutions either resist or succumb to political pressure, and what does it take to build state capacity that endures beyond individual appointments or electoral cycles?

This question surfaces across different domains. In the case of the National Prosecuting Authority, Nicole Fritz argues that no leadership appointment, however capable, can repair an institution that remains structurally weakened and vulnerable to infiltration. At our public discussion at GIBS, bringing together Ivor Chipkin, investigative journalist Jeff Wicks, SIU Head Andy Mothibi, and whistleblower Martha Ngoye, we explored how state capture persists not only through networks and deals but through the narratives that justify weakening oversight—and why protecting those who challenge these dynamics remains urgent.

The same institutional fragility shapes the promise and the risk of South Africa’s Public Service Amendment Bill. This historic legislation seeks to legally separate political and administrative powers in government, potentially marking the country’s third transition. But as our Public Service Reform team emphasized in extensive media engagement, bold implementation will determine whether this reform fulfills its promise or becomes another well-intentioned framework undermined by political interference.

Beyond South Africa’s borders, institutional questions take different forms. Our South–South Dialogues programme examined the AU–EU relationship, where Europe’s security-first approach increasingly conflicts with Africa’s development priorities—prompting the continent to look eastward for partners willing to deliver infrastructure, financing, and policy space without the same conditionalities. Meanwhile, our Migration Governance Reform in Africa (MIGRA) programme produced comprehensive research showing that even where regional mobility frameworks exist—in West Africa, East Africa, and at the continental level—persistent institutional barriers, from documentation systems to border management and political will, still limit safe, regular movement across borders.

These contemporary challenges are what make our newly launched Histories of Governance research programme particularly timely. This initiative will trace state-building trajectories through the histories of key public institutions, taking African institutional experience seriously as a source of theory, not merely context. With forthcoming studies on the National Treasury, urban governance dynamics, and the NPA, the programme challenges policy thinking shaped predominantly by European and American models, opening space for approaches rooted in local histories, practices, and political economies. A full public launch is planned for early 2026.

Download the full newsletter to read the complete articles, interviews, and reflections from our teams.