About the Journal

NEW AGENDA is a peer-reviewed academic journal that is accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training and listed in its Index of Approved South African Journals. Since 2020 it has been an online, open access publication, available free of charge and published in accordance with a Creative Commons Licence. As a Diamond Open Access Journal it does not charge any fees for authors or readers or for article processing.

The journal’s focus encompasses South African, African and international developments in social and economic research and policy. Its mission is to promote alternative ideas on social, ecological and economic transformation and to challenge inequalities based on race, gender, class, ethnicity and caste, among others, as impediments to a just and democratic society. It aims to provide high-quality pertinent information and analysis for stakeholders in government, academia and civil society to promote democratic participation in economic, social and political life.

New Agenda is the flagship publication of the Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA). IFAA is dedicated to promoting economic transformation, non-racialism, anti-racism and gender equality, continental solidarity and African self-reliance, and youth participation in political and social discourse.

The Institute for Social Development (ISD) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) provides an academic home for New Agenda, in accordance with a 2023 Memorandum of Understanding. The aim of this publishing partnership is to broaden editorial governance, automate peer review processes, and use digital platforms to expand readership of the magazine. All submissions to New Agenda are processed on the OJS/PKP platform hosted by the UWC Library.

Launched more than 20 years ago by IFAA’s founder, the late activist and former Member of Parliament, Professor Ben Turok, New Agenda is a quarterly journal that aims to bring solid, policy-relevant research to the public in an accessible and intelligible form. It publishes academic research, policy debates and interventions, opinions, interviews and book reviews.

New Agenda is a hybrid journal located in the important interface between academic research; policy debates and interventions; and citizen mobilisation. Its aim is to engage and empower readers with relevant knowledge and information in order to play a constructive role in social, political and economic transformation and development in our country, our continent and our global community.

IFAA is committed to preserving New Agenda’s unique dual character as an activist and academic journal and to this end seeks to continuously meet global standards of excellence in research and academic publishing. New Agenda’s editorial board includes members from academic institutions in all parts of the world in order to internationalise the journal.