Policy analysis and strategic foresight for maintaining security during public events in the Global South

Abstract

This article examines policies and policy-relevant effects during the preparation and implementation phases of an internationally relevant large-scale public event in an emerging country of the Global South. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa serves as an example to show the behavioural patterns, quality, democratic content and rationality of decision making of the involved transnational companies and globalised institutions. Global players such as FIFA, Coca Cola and others utilised strategic intelligence to serve own corporate interests but ignored human rights for their own benefit. As a consequence, South Africa plunged into enormously high public debts and experienced an increase of social inequalities and poverty. This example for neo-colonialist effects of globalisation in the Global South suggests that better policies for 'catch-up strategies' in the development process should be identified, namely one that takes into account foresight, public security for all populace and the importance of human rights.