Histories of Government is a joint initiative of the New South Institute and the School of Government at the University of the Western Cape. Its Substack publishes essays that treat post-colonial and post-socialist societies, the ‘New South’, as sources of knowledge about government rather than as places that only receive solutions designed elsewhere.

The essays cover the building and reform of state institutions in South Africa after apartheid, public service reform, state capture and corruption, migration governance in Africa and South-South cooperation.

Each post below has a short summary and a link to the full essay on Substack. Subscribe on Substack to receive new essays by email.