| Title | Chapter 4: The political dynamics of international trade in Lesotho |
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| DOI | https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2025.BK536.04 |
| Landing page | https://books.aosis.co.za/index.php/ob/catalog/book/536 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Denis Nfor Yuni & Tsotang Tsietsi (eds.). Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd. The moral rights of the editors and authors have been asserted. |
| Publisher | AOSIS |
| Long abstract | International trade is acknowledged to play a major role in the socioeconomic development of the landlocked, least developed Kingdom of Lesotho. On the contrary, the country has maintained a balance of trade deficit over the years, meaning that the country imports more than it exports, and there is, at the moment, no indication of any foreseeable reversal of the trend. This chapter illustrates that politics principally leverages international trade. Hence, for Lesotho, the extent to which trade with other countries may contribute to the economy’s advancement depends on the dynamics of domestic politics. Politics in Lesotho has been disruptive and unstable, characterised by explosive incidents of unconstitutional regime changes, protracted periods of totalitarian military rule and fragile coalition governments, which have tremendously affected the country’s economic performance. The intriguing question is whether politics in Lesotho is capable of structural transformation to be able to explore the gainful side of international trade for socio-economic development in the country. In response to the question, the argumentation is articulated through a socio-legal approach involving a qualitative review and analysis of existing literature concerning the Lesotho government’s policy obligations relating to international trade and the implications of that for the country. |
| Print length | 15 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
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Carol Chi Ngang is an associate professor in the Department of Public Law at NUL, Lesotho, a research fellow at the Free State Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and a guest lecturer at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Ngang serves as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Rights Chair for Lesotho and is a Category C2-rated researcher with the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. Ngang holds a Doctor of Laws (LLD) and a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, an International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA) from Fordham University in the Bronx, New York, USA, a certificate in Sustainable Development and International Human Rights Law (SUSTLAW) from the University of Antwerp in Belgiumand a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Yaoundé II in the Republic of Cameroon. Ngang was a visiting researcher at the Van Vollenhoven Institute (VVI) for Law, Governance and Society at Leiden University in the Netherlands in 2022; at the Law and Development Research Group at the University of Antwerp in Belgium in 2025 and 2016and at the Cegla Center for Interdisciplinary Research of the Law at Tel Aviv University in Israel in 2015. Ngang’s research interests combine human rights and development, with a specific focus on the right to development and socio-economic and cultural rights. He has published on these topics, including books, book chapters, journal articles and policy briefs. He is a member of the International Society of Public Law (ICON•S), the Law and Society Association (LSA) and the Law and Development Research Network (LDRN). Additionally, he serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of the Institute for African Studies (JIAS), an associate editor for the Lesotho Law Journal (LLJ) and the Turf Law Journal (TJL) and as an advisory board member for the International Journal of Ethiopian Legal Studies (IJELS). Ngang has previously worked in the non-governmental organisational (NGO) sector in both the Republic of Cameroon and South Africa.