Non-State Actors

By Péter MARTON I am always interested in experimenting with new formats (it helps creativity). Starting today, I will occasionally offer my take here on various subjects in a two-in-one scheme. I find this to be prospectively fruitful as it helps one identify connections between seemingly unrelated issues. What follows this time is a brief consideration of the legacy as well as the future of technological change, related to stuff I have recently come across in my virtual travels over the interwebz. (Picture: an image from the movie District 9.) 1. An interesting trend to observe these days is the increasingly explicit reference to disruptive technological change as a possible threat in the yearly Worldwide Threat Assessments from the office of the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) – and the US Intelligence Community, of course. "Cyber" is a domain discussed since a long time now, with its obviously relevant implications for (inter)national security – see th...

By Péter MARTON Have you heard of the Life Esidimeni healthcare scandal before? In a nutshell: There is pressure now on the managers of several South African NGOs to account for the deaths of psychiatric patients in their care after as many as 75 patients died in the facilities of five of these organisations between March 23 and December 19, 2016, in Gauteng Province (population: 12.2 million). A total of 141 deaths (including at hospitals) are being investigated. So who is responsible for these deaths? South African Health Ombudsman Dr. Malegapuru Makgoba named five NGOs "the most dangerous" related to the cases concerned. These are Precious Angels, CCRC/Siyadabinga/Anchor, Mosego/Takalani, Tshepong, and Hephzibah (see page 1 of this government report for the list and more). These and 22 other NGOs took over mental patients from Life Esidimeni, the healthcare contractor that provided services up to 2015 for the Department of Health in Gauteng province. The Depart...