Senior Researcher in the ANC Parliamentary Caucus in South Africa's National Assembly. I also study how people think about the law, morality, and the nation in South Africa. www.davidjeff.co.zahttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3md3dwlzgoc2mOn the side of a busy street in Khayelitsha, Simon runs an unexpectedly criminal enterprise: a black-market barbershop. My article in @groundup.org.za on the policing of informal businesses in South Africa. https://groundup.org.za/article/how-informal-businesses-are-reduced-to-rubble/23 Jan 2026 09:06 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3md3dwlzgoc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3lzgcunypi22sAn article by @telegraphnews.bsky.social literally advocating tax evasion. Literally - how to pretend to run a commercial woodland to avoid inheritance tax. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/inheritance/how-a-woodland-could-help-you-avoid-inheritance-tax/22 Sep 2025 11:34 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzgcunypi22shttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3lilycwtfes2sThis is such important research on why unemployed South Africans leave or turn down work. We need to think beyond debates about mininum wage to think more expansively about what work with dignity can mean. https://theconversation.com/6-in-10-young-south-africans-have-no-jobs-why-some-still-reject-offers-of-work-24905220 Feb 2025 09:33 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lilycwtfes2shttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3lih56dciqk2sHere is a puzzle. People in sub-Saharan Africa tend to be *twice* as religious as the rest of the world, yet countries in the region provide *half* as much state support for religion. Why? Hint: It isn't about state capacity. #polrel [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Feb 2025 11:17 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lih56dciqk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3lgfsnuc3rc2fAre there any academics you read where you think 'woah, that's really good writing'? I'm having an odd time. I'm returning to books and articles that I remember as excellent. But when I read them closely, their wordwork is clumsy. Help. Who first came to mind when you read my question?23 Jan 2025 11:46 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgfsnuc3rc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3lcklncwrc22yThought-provoking - moral language makes pro-immigration messages more effective. Some of these are really small tweaks: a "fairer and more decent" rather than "better and sounder" immigration policy. (And some are larger, like focusing on a country's values rather than economic benefits). [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 Dec 2024 11:43 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcklncwrc22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3lcfexgmebc2lPoliticians in South Africa use religious rhetoric, but still pursue secular and liberal policies like access to abortion and protecting same-sex partnerships. Why? https://theconversation.com/god-and-politics-in-south-africa-the-ruling-ancs-winning-strategy-198902 @africa.theconversation.com #polrel (This is an older article, but as we migrate to Bluesky...)03 Dec 2024 10:00 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcfexgmebc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3lbwfvnkvvs2pAdded! Minus the non-SA William Bird and @mbekezeli.bsky.social, who was on already. Thanks so much. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Nov 2024 11:07 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbwfvnkvvs2phttps://bsky.app/profile/davidjeffery.bsky.social/post/3lbvzltyp322nHere is a list of accounts that comment on politics in South Africa 👇. Very incomplete but getting better - please tag suggestions! go.bsky.app/vzDePD [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Nov 2024 07:26 +0000at://did:plc:fz4fd3xlpobeick4fkptzgeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbvzltyp322n