Foreign policy is widely regarded as one of the post-apartheid government’s major areas of achievement, yet remains one of the most challenging. In this volume, leading scholars provide critical assessments of the conduct of South African foreign policy since 1994 against the background of six principles articulated by Nelson Mandela in a celebrated article published in the journal Foreign Affairs in 1993.
While South African foreign policy has become wide-ranging and complex, these reflective contributions demonstrate a remarkable adherence to these principles.
And, the editors argue, to the extent that South African foreign policy has not been entirely cohesive, it reflects tensions and contradictions present in the 1993 principles right from the outset, resulting in a ‘balancing act between enhancing the values of the global financial system on the one hand, and developing world partnerships on the other’.
Aimed at stimulating thinking among policy-makers, analysts, and students, this volume will rank as one of the most authoritative analyses, and one of the most complete intellectual records, of South Africa’s foreign policy during the crucial first decade following its transition to democracy.
