South African Foreign Policy Review: Volume 1

Preface

vii Preface The Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) has taken a timely and invaluable initiative to produce a series of volumes on ‘The Review of South African Foreign policy’. The first volume largely deals with foreign policy since 1999. Since the establishment of the first democratic government in 1994, many experts and academics in South Africa and internationally have written about South Africa’s foreign policy. Unfortunately, most of these articles were based on wishful thinking about some ‘unique non-western foreign policy’ that was expected from a democratic South African government . Much of the criticism was based on the government’s failure to sustain a ‘human rights perspective’ on foreign policy. A lot of the analysis was done too early and was not based on policy documentation of the African National Congress (ANC). An ANC-led government ’s foreign policy could not suddenly appear in 1994; it has its roots in the history of the ANC since its formation in 1912. These documents will help to explain why our foreign policy since 1994 is driven by an Africanist, anti-colonial and anti-imperialist perspective. It is also unfortunate that very little reference was made to documents in the archives of the then Department of Foreign Affairs and little, if any, interviews were conducted with people involved in foreign policy formulation and implementation, as these would have helped to explain why, in relation to specific country issues whether bilaterally or multilaterally, the government took the positions it took, which were always driven by our perspective of ‘A Better South Africa, A Better Africa and A Better World’. There was also little attempt to analyse South Africa’s foreign policy in the context of the fundamentally transformed international relations environment, largely characterised by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War and the emergence of a unipolar world dominated by the US. The foreign relations of all countries had to grapple with this reality. South Africa was no exception. Twenty years into our democracy, experts and academics have access to ANC and foreign affairs documentation and can interview many role players. This provides an opportunity for a constructively critical analysis and review of South African foreign policy. Volume I deals with important subjects in foreign policy, including foreign policy-making and stakeholder interface; soft power and diplomacy; diplomacy of provinces and municipalities; economic diplomacy and negotiations ; peace diplomacy; South Africa and the Middle East and North Africa; South Africa and Asia; South Africa and the global North; South viii Africa and the global South; South Africa and key African countries; and South Africa in Africa multilaterally. It also considers what the insights from these thematic assessments tell us about future prospects of South Africa’s foreign policy. Many of the contributors have done postgraduate work relating to their respective chapters and have been involved with government and with nongovernment Organizations in the formulation and implementation of policy. They cover very complex and constantly changing subjects affecting foreign policy. Volume I will undoubtedly provide the impetus for more informed discussions on South African foreign policy since 1999. It must also lay the foundations for other volumes to further develop these themes and continuously assess developments in these areas. Aziz Pahad Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in South Africa, 1994–2008 July 2012 PREFACE ...