South African Foreign Policy Review: Volume 1

CHAPTER 3. The international relations of South African provinces and municipalities: An appraisal of federated diplomacy

42 CHAPTER 3 The international relations of South African provinces and municipalities Anappraisaloffederateddiplomacy1 Siphamandla Zondi INTRODUCTION S ince 1994, South Africa has seen dramatic growth in international engagements by provinces and municipalities. But there has been only a slight improvement in policy coordination and alignment, because neither authorities nor civil society have taken much interest in the subject. As a result, notwithstanding the growth in paradiplomacy (as these activities are known), and in spite of the evidence of their misalignment with foreign policy, the scholarly literature on international activities by South African provinces and municipalities remains scant.2 While there are media reports on international visits, there is hardly any public discussion of this growing driver of South Africa’s international relations. Governmental coordination processes, especially after 2004, have not stimulated serious interest in debating the role and impact of South African provinces and municipalities in international relations. Increasingly, sub-national governments such as provinces and cities, and transnational actors such as global regions are playing an active and strategic role in the conduct of international relations, previously considered the preserve of national governments.3 These activities take the form of sub-national fraternity, solidarity, visits and strategic relationships and partnerships. They are sometimes guided by twinning agreements and other inter-province/inter-city agreements. They may take loose forms of constant visits designed to explore economic and other opportunities; fact-finding and lessons-sharing exercises; investment promotion expos; or wide-ranging economic cooperation guided by a twinning agreement. Often, these international engagements offer direct economic, political and social benefits to the provinces and municipalities involved4 and have the potential to contribute to the greater good of a nation, especially when they are properly managed and given a strategic thrust of some kind – but 43 THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF SOUTH AFRICAN PROVINCES AND MUNICIPALITIES they may also complicate intergovernmental relations between spheres of government. While the mapping of the growth in paradiplomacy in South Africa is yet to be fully done, we know enough about the extent of this growth to assess the nature and quality of paradiplomacy and the bearing that it has on the coherence of South Africa’s foreign policy broadly, including the impact of political transitions such as that from Mbeki to Zuma. This chapter attempts a comprehensive and holistic appraisal of shifts in paradiplomacy on the basis of the theory of perforated sovereignty. It suggests that while the federalisation of international relations by growing paradiplomacy should worry those concerned about coherent state behaviour in international relations, this development also signifies maturity in South Africa’s foreign policy and diplomacy. Yet while there is inter-sphere consensus and understanding on the need for greater coherence, coordination and alignment (if subordination) of paradiplomacy with national government -controlled foreign policy, the contradictions are far from over. This chapter, therefore, suggests that the very process of a continuous search for inter-sphere consensus on paradiplomacy will reduce these tensions and deepen coherence in South Africa’s international diplomacy. PERFORATED SOVEREIGNTY AND THE FEDERALISATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The state-centric approach to the international system propagated mainly by the realist school during the Cold War period intensified during the 1960s.5 It intensified further through the growth of neoliberal institutionalism from the early 1980s, in spite of the growing evidence of the ascendance of sub-national and non-state actors in international affairs that can be traced back to the 1920s.6 The statist bias in the analysis of international relations continues to dominate social dialogue, policy thinking and academic discourses. However, we know that sub-national governments have, for a long time, been negotiating and signing international agreements, conducting diplomatic and trade missions, seeking foreign investment, and cooperating with counterparts in a broad range of areas including capacity building, education and health. They have even formed international Organizations of their own to influence international decision-making.7 Although there is a growing realisation among scholars and diplomats alike that states do not enjoy a monopoly of space, voice and influence in international affairs, there has been limited growth in the literature on the growing role of South African non-state actors, particularly its multinational corporations, public enterprises, universities, nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) and sub-national governments.8 In particular, there 44 CHAPTER 3 is very little written on the role of the governing party, major multinationals , civil society and ideational networks on the trajectory that...