ABSTRACT
In this chapter “southern Africa” refers to the members of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the regional organization that was founded in 1980 and reformed in 1992. Member states include Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Apart from geographical proximity, many of the 14 members share common colonial experiences and similar societal and political features. While there are some important factors of differentiation (such as recent experiences of warfare and distinctive paths of political transition in countries such as the DRC, Mozambique, or South Africa) membership to the organization in some regards provides cohesiveness to economic and other policy objectives, an aspect that is particularly significant in a discussion of the contours and effects of globalization in the region.
