This week we are looking at the politics behind one of the Executive Orders from President Trump. The Executive Order “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa”, was issued on the 7th of February 2025. As justification for this order, President Trump cited South Africa’s Expropriation Act 13, which allows for land to be expropriated with nil compensation in limited circumstances and has been criticized as racially discriminatory by some white Afrikaners, decedents of the European settlers that have ruled South Africa during apartheid and still own a disproportionate share of land and wealth. Dr. Simon Taylor, a Teaching Fellow in International Relations & Security at Durham’s School of Government and International Affairs and an Extraordinary Researcher at North-West University in South Africa, is joining me to discuss the politics behind this Executive Order. Before joining academia, he served as a Senior Foreign Service Officer for the South African Department of International Relations and Co-operation.

To learn more about Simon's research visit his website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/simon-d-taylor/

Literature related to the episode:

- Executive Order "Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa" 7th February 2025. Online at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/addressing-egregious-actions-of-the-republic-of-south-africa/ [Last accessed: 14th February 2024].

Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/