Perspectives on science policy in South Africa

Over the years, there have been several publications on science and technology in South Africa. Most, if not all of them, have focused on the science and technology landscape up to the mid-eighties. The changes in the science and technology system since the democratisation of this country have thus far not been reflected on in a systemstic way. This book presents a perspective on this changing landscape by offering an encompassing conceptual framework that should remain valid even if the policy were to evolve further. This perspective is further profiled by bringing into focus the main developments that have shaped science policy in South Africa since the turn of the 20th century. The last four chapters of this book sketch this process and its outcomes to date - unstable as the picture may still be. This dynamic situation, however, does allow one to experience something of the vibrant atmosphere that characterised the transformation of the country during the 1990s. This overview of the development of science and technology is presented within the context of a multi-faceted conceptual framework (chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4). The intention of this book is to offer an overview and evaluation of the policy and system and a prognosis of future developments in the context of broader historical, theoretical and international trends.