A Country on the Brink?

A special report in the June 3, 2010, issue of The Economist (links below) takes a comprehensive look at the host country of the 2010 World Cup, and considers whether strides made since the end of apartheid and minority rule are mostly in the name of progress . . . or not. Only sixteen years after becoming a true democracy and with a windstream of optimism at its back, South Africa is poised to position itself as a leader of the emerging nations of the developed world. At the same time, it must shake the perception -- if not reality -- that it is a country beset by violent crime, incessant poverty, the scourge of HIV/AIDS, government corruption, and lingering racial tension. An incident-free and otherwise successful World Cup will go a long way toward bolstering national confidence and imbuing South Africa with the belief that it is capable of hosting important global events in exquisite fashion, and deserving of accolades yet to come.

http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displayStory.cfm?story_id=16248589&source=hptextfeature

http://economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16248671