Focusing on the period from 2011 to early 2021, the paper examines the complex gender machinery of the state in South Africa and the powerful and affective politics that provide this machinery with weight and direction. The paper is a follow-up to the author’s chapter contribution on engendering the post-94 state in MISTRA’s 2013 publication, Essays on the Evolution of the Post-Apartheid State. The launch of the working paper marks Women’s Month in South Africa.

The discussion will be led by the working paper author, Lisa Vetten, with responses from Matodzi Amisi (Institute for Security Studies) and Hlengiwe Ndhlovu (Nelson Mandela University).