SAIIA at 75 - SAIIA

This statement, delivered on the 75th anniversary of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), outlines the evolving role of think tanks in the 21st century, specifically within the African context. The speaker emphasizes the necessity of informed public debate to guide government action and argues that African think tanks must overcome financial and political constraints to diversify global knowledge production and influence policy outcomes.

• SAIIA was established in 1934 with the primary goal of creating a forum for citizen debate on international affairs to prevent the types of "back-room alliances, and elite war-mongering" that contributed to the start of the Great War.
• The discipline of international affairs has shifted from a 1930s focus on state-to-state relations mediated by heads of state and foreign ministries to a modern focus on the "nexus between the state and other stakeholders," encompassing governance, security, and development.
• The speaker asserts that the primary value of think tanks is not the production of knowledge for its own sake, but their ability to "bridge the gap between research and policy" to improve policy outcomes and lives.
• Think tanks in Africa face specific systemic challenges, including a lack of indigenous funding, dependence on government revenue which can compromise independence, and a policy community where many "greatest minds" are located in the diaspora.
• African think tanks have a strategic responsibility to challenge the "skewed nature of knowledge production" globally by conveying the nuances of African debates to the North and diversifying global discourse.
• SAIIA defines its current role as providing leadership development, nurturing analytical excellence, and making constructive input into policy formulation regarding the challenges facing its region.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2009). SAIIA at 75 - SAIIA. https://saiia.org.za/research/saiia-at-75/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. SAIIA at 75 - SAIIA. 2009. https://saiia.org.za/research/saiia-at-75/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=SAIIA at 75 - SAIIA |date=16 September 2009 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/saiia-at-75/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2009saiia, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{SAIIA at 75 - SAIIA}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2009}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/saiia-at-75/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }