Andre Vlok

Conflict and employment dispute specialist, negotiator, mediator, arbitrator, author

📧 [email protected]
Blog :

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

SOUTH AFRICANS SAVING THEIR CITIES

My third book, Skylines: the modern urban conflict manual offers a comprehensive and practical roadmap for the hard work that so urgently needs to be done to save our cities.

Available from Amazon, the publishers or myself, in hardcopy or ebook. Index and reviews in images

Read the book
Do the work
Save your city

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

MIGRATION CONFLICTS

As with other important conflicts, such as the BB-EEE debates, our leaders and our society make these urgent and crucially important crises more intractable than they need to be. Outdated and incomplete arguments simply lead to increased polarization.

My chapter on migration conflicts, from my recent book Skylines: the modern urban conflict manual

https://t.co/ntlp0zhY8Z

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

Also available over at Substack

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

THE UNBEARABLE RIGHTNESS OF BEIJING

With geopolitical realism being dragged back into vogue by some of our global strongmen, some of its less visible carnival tricks have also become more exposed than ever.

One is the insistence on a prescribed set of pre-approved allies. My enemies must be your enemies, or you become my enemy. The crude demands are nowadays made without a semblance of pretending.
Sovereignty as conditional gift, sovereignty as long as we have the "right" friends.

Since the start of the second Trump administration, I have written and consulted quite a lot about this growing aspect of geopolitical conflict skills, and I have pointed out what South Africa's own goals and approach should be.

As the new Cold War escalates, we are going to find ourselves increasingly between these rocks and hard places. We should stop apologizing for some of our alliances, but we should also be far more skillful in making our choices and conveying our message. A meek insistence on our non-alignment will not be sufficient cover.

The old cliches will do us harm, but the mere exchange for one bullying hegemon for another will just be changing the deckchairs on our self-constructed Titanic. The skill necessary for this next decade lies elsewhere.

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

/
My article on the US Cuban conflict: what next, what are the options, and how does it affect South Africa

https://t.co/Chch94LLF2

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

IS CUBA NEXT?

In March of this year, president Trump publicly stated that Cuba is next, when speaking at the time of the US Iran war.

Does the US have Cuba in its sights? Does this include a military invasion? What are the conflict options? How does any of this affect South Africa and its relationship with Cuba?

My article analyzing these increasingly important questions will be published in the next few days

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

@IrfaanMangera @d_lorne73218 @ShabirMadh Brilliant achievement 👏

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

Rainstorms and cross-examination via Teams. Always an interesting challenge ☕️

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

@Makashule Congratulations, this is a wise appointment. All the best

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

@poobie_pillay Was there, left. No socks necessary 😁

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

Durban. Apparently

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

@samilletweet Good people

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

@poobie_pillay Will do 😁

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

It's time

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

Last night's highlights package

[Harry Sisson @harryjsisson]

Trump had another mental health episode today and posted over 50 times online:

11:15 AM - Trump attacks judge who said he couldn’t put his name on the Kennedy Center
12:03 PM - Says he may perform and give a speech at the America 250 event instead of artists who cancelled
12:08 PM - Says Obama filled the Reflecting Pool with Garbage
12:09 PM - Attacks Biden
12:09 PM - Posts edited photo of Columbus Circle in DC with the caption “CLEAN”
12:10 PM - Attacks Biden again
12:11 PM - Posts AI photo of him and George Washington riding horses in front of the White House with a space shuttle and race car in the background
12:11 PM - Attacks Rosie O’Donnell
12:11 PM - Posts photo of him in front of the American flag
12:11 PM - Brags about his endorsed candidates winning
12:12 PM - Attack Obama and Biden over the reflecting pool
12:12 PM - Posts photo of him pointing at the camera
12:13 PM - Posts photo of the UFC event cage he’s building at the White House
12:13 PM - Posts an AI image of a “golden dome” for the White House
12:15 PM - Defends Jaxson Dart, calling him a “winner” and his critics “losers”
12:45 PM - Posts an AI image of him as a NY Knicks basketball player dunking on Governor Kathy Hochul
12:56 PM - Posts an AI image of him with Tom Brady
1:03 PM - Posts a garbage can labeling it “The Obama Presidential Library”
1:16 PM - Says America is back
1:16 PM - Says America is back again
1:16 PM - Says America is back for the 3rd time
1:55 PM - Posts an AI image of him golfing
2:55 PM - Says he’s in “excellent health” lol
3:17 PM - Promotes his Fox News interview with Lara Trump
4:33 PM - Attacks the Pope again
4:54 PM - Posts a weird image of him staring at Greenland (which he has posted already)
4:57 PM - Posts an AI image of the “drone port” he wants to build on top of the ballroom
5:33 PM - Attacks Biden
5:33 PM - Attacks Biden x2
5:34 PM - Attacks Biden x3
5:34 PM - Attacks Biden x4
5:34 PM - Attacks Biden x5
5:35 PM - Posts cartoon image of Governors Newsom, Pritzker, and Hochul saying they like crime (Trump is a felon)
5:36 PM - Posts meme about Republicans who voted to release the Epstein files losing their primaries
5:36 PM - Posts an old tweet of his where he attacks “disloyal” Republicans
5:37 PM - Posts an old tweet where he said he wants to stop the world from “killing itself”
5:37 PM - Posts a mock up of a “Trump Peace Prize” which may be the most useless peace prize known to man
5:37 PM - Posts a photo of a B-2 bomber with the caption “Trump energy 2026”
5:37 PM - Posts a photo of his face on Mount Rushmore
5:38 PM - Posts an image of him kissing the American flag (he’s the least patriotic president we’ve ever had)
5:39 PM - Compares himself to George Washington
5:39 PM - Says you were convinced to think a photo of a family sitting on a car is “evil” and billions were spent to do that (???)
5:50 PM - Says we should “physically audit” Fort Knox
5:50 PM - Posts an image of him cosplaying as a navy commander
5:51 PM - Posts another image of his face on Mount Rushmore
5:51 PM - Posts another photo of him and George Washington
6:09 PM - Attacks Biden again
6:09 PM - Attacks Biden x2
6:09 PM - Attacks Biden x3
6:09 PM - Posts an old photo of himself and King Charles
6:12 PM - Posts an old photo of himself and President XI in China
6:12 PM - Posts another photo of himself and President Xi
6:22 PM - Posts a photo of himself walking in China
6:48 PM - Says the U.S. should have a ballroom because China has one
7:03 PM - Says he wants to cancel his America 250 celebration and replace it with a MAGA rally
7:56 PM - Promotes Mark Levin’s show on Fox News
7:59 PM - Promotes his Fox News interview with Lara Trump

All in one day. This man is not well. Impeachment and removal NOW.

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

My soul needs a proper curry bunny, so tomorrow and Monday it is Durban. Well, for other reasons also, but mainly for that

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

The AI over at LinkedIn is not ready yet 🤡

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

A classic. And a book by some Russian guy 📚📚☕️

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

Some people just have X accounts so that they can do spectacular public damage to their chosen political parties. And they're not even aware that they're doing it

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

@BarbaraMarais6 I don't think there were any, the station itself may have done so. Will let you know if we find any

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

The other place reminds me of this wonderful radio series where 5 years ago I could share some time with the great people of Namibia

[Andre Vlok @vlok_andre]

A poor decision. It will predictably raise rumors, most probably affect the integrity and credibility of the (unfinished)commission report, and send a few wrong messages.

In arguably the most important commission we have seen in years, you don't throw in the towel at this stage