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Although it is still too early to say what the implications of President Cyril Ramaphosa's "new dawn" will be for foreign policy, the first signs are certainly those that promise a lot of promise.
The "glory days" of South African foreign policy were synonymous with the Thabo Mbeki administration. Under Mbeki's tutelage, South Africa's international standing was unmatched, South Africa was a relatively new, relatively small, middle-income African country that made considerable progress in the international political arena. . To describe the successes of South Africa's foreign policy, commentators and observers coined the phrase that suggested that "South Africa was beating above its weight".
Mbeki succeeded in developing and articulating a grand vision for not only South Africa in the international community but for the African continent as a whole. This vision was encapsulated by the so-called African Renaissance, the goal of this vision was to position South Africa and Africa as formidable actors and interlocutors among their international peers. Internationally renowned professor Adekeye Adebajo emphasized that Mbeki "encouraged South Africans to adopt an African identity and sought to promote the political, economic and social renewal of the continent. It has also sought to integrate Africa into the global economy. "For South Africa, this has also shifted to" the African agenda ", which would see the African continent as the priority of South African politics
To date, most of South Africa's foreign policy spending is devoted to its diplomatic engagement on the African continent. by the South African Institute of International Affairs concluded that a total of 30% of the expenditures of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation are devoted to operations on the African continent. South African foreign policy engagement with Africa is accompanied by a resource allocation The vision of the African renaissance has also been followed by political interventions to prioritize the development of the continent. continent by making Africa the main driver of its own development priorities. These priorities included the reduction of poverty, the consolidation of democratic governance, the advent of peace, security and political stability, and the creation of economic opportunities for the fledgling youth of the continent.
These policy interventions would be overseen by policy frameworks such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) for the purpose of to quote only a few. To see this vision come to fruition, Mbeki would forge strategic alliances with some of his continental peers. Among them were Abdoulaye Wade, former president of Senegal, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, former president of Algeria, Olusegon Obesanjo, former president of Nigeria and Benjamin Mkapa, former president of Tanzania, among others.
The emergence of this alliance gave birth to a constellation of what one could call in the diplomatic circles of "states of anchorage" in the conduct of this new postcolonial renewal of the continent , described as the African Renaissance. During this period, South Africa also obtained a prestigious non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), reinforcing the notion of "exceeding its weight".
What also gave credence to Mbeki's leading role on the continent and his international stature was the domestic political landscape of South Africa. The South African economy has experienced unprecedented economic growth, and the ruling party has consolidated an overwhelming electoral majority, which has seen Mbeki and his ruling party garner close to two-thirds of electoral support. This despite the notable and well documented errors of the Mbeki administration. It is important to emphasize this because it highlights the very important link between foreign and domestic policy, namely the way in which domestic politics inexorably influences foreign policy.
In 2009, Jacob Zuma took over the presidency of South Africa. This political turn has had mixed consequences for South African foreign policy. However, with hindsight, we can conclude that South Africa has lost a significant degree of international stature that it had laboriously built up during the Mbeki years. The temptation for many observers and analysts has been to provide simplistic explanations for the decline of South Africa's international position under the administration of Jacob Zuma and, at the same time, to overlook key achievements. of the Zuma administration.
The Zuma Administration maintained the African continent as a foreign policy priority, maintaining key continental commitments such as contributions to peacekeeping operations and continued mediation for peace, security and security. stability on the continent. Under the umbrella of Zuma, South Africa also saw its membership in the Brazil Russia India China South Africa (BRICS) forum, thus opening the country to commercial and other opportunities in alternative markets. South Africa has also signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with the world's second largest economy in the form of the People's Republic of China, which has elevated relations between China and South Africa at the highest level.
The decline in South Africa's foreign policy fortunes during this period came mainly from domestic factors. There is no doubt that at the national level, the Zuma administration could be described as calamitous, with its administration going from one scandal to the other. Degradations of international credit ratings, declining economic growth, rising unemployment, and public financial malpractices on an unprecedented scale in democratic South Africa have become synonymous with the Zuma administration. In the end, well-conceived foreign policy priorities were relegated to the background, with South Africa's goal becoming a domestic policy issue. That this would have significant consequences on foreign policy would be inevitable; During this period, South Africa was perceived as having withdrawn from the role of credible and committed continental leader and international partner that it was formerly.
Perhaps the most significant development that has significantly shaken South Africa's international position was its mismanagement of the visit of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to South Africa, under the auspices of Africa. 39, a commitment of the African Union. As is known, al-Bashir had been indicted by the International Criminal Court with an arrest warrant against his name. The status of South Africa as a signatory to the Rome Statute imposes the obligation to arrest and send Al-Bashir to The Hague to respond to accusations of war crimes and war crimes. violations of human rights, among other things. In the end, South Africa did not comply with its obligations under the Rome Statute and al-Bashir left the country in a cloud of confusion, litigation and a cacophony of criticism against Zuma administration.
This saga eventually led to South Africa's announcement of its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. In turn, this initiative has sparked significant international reactions, tarnishing the international image of South Africa and sending shockwaves through the international community.
The recent rise of Cyril Ramaphosa to the South African presidency, following his accession to the presidency of the ANC (African National Congress) in a highly disputed political battle, gave a new impetus to the political life in South Africa. This injection of optimism became known as the "new dawn" and accompanied by a promise of a national political repair program. Although it is still too early to say what implications this new dawn would have on foreign policy, the initial signs are certainly those that are very promising. Accompanied by his new Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, President Ramaphosa began developing a restorative justice program for South Africa, which has so far been well received by its international peers. In addition, messages from Pretoria have created new confidence in the country's foreign policy mechanisms.
In his first budget speech, Minister Sisulu reaffirmed South Africa's foreign policy priorities, including the priority given to the African continent "as we consolidate our political relations on the continent through 47 embassies, high commissions and consulates general; South Africa has also rapidly advanced its economic relations in Africa … South Africa has increased its bilateral trade portfolio with the countries of the continent, from 11.4 billion rand in 1994 to 429 billion current.
Sisulu emphasized the persistence of the serious nature of South Africa 's foreign policy approach for its own sake. engage with Africa, commitment of resources and intensification of business activities.In addition, she signaled the intention to address some of the long-standing internal challenges of the Ministry for ass uring a well-oiled foreign policy machine, equipped to meet the country's international obligations.
On July 5, President Ramaphosa hosted his first state visit by welcoming Ghana's President, Nana Akufo-Addo. Like Ramaphosa, President Akufo-Addo is known for defending a reparative political agenda. Akufo-Addo is striving to articulate the pursuit of a new continental agenda similar to the African Renaissance of Mbeki. He has made great efforts to call for an African continent independent of donor charity as a means of financing its development.
Akufo-Addo also focused a foreign trade agenda aimed at attracting foreign direct investment and stimulating a continental industry. base that will domesticate industrial value chains. It seems that Ramaphosa has found an ally to Akufo-Addo since Ramaphosa has also established a similar development program. At the beginning of his term, Ramaphosa announced his intention of attracting 100 billion dollars (1,200 billion rand) of foreign direct investment and has managed so far to obtain 857 million rand from this. goal during a visit to the UK and 10 to a billion of a recent state visit to Saudi Arabia.
What Ramaphosa first greets his Ghanaian counterpart is revealing enough, he could very well point to the emergence of a new constellation of states of anchorage on the continent, which will champion this new program of African industrialization also included in the Agenda 2063. [19659003] While it would be prudent to definitively conclude that a new dawn is upon us in matters of foreign policy, one could easily say that the measures taken by Ramaphosa up to here bode well for the possibility of a revitalized foreign policy agenda for South Africa. DM
Sambulo Mathebula is a practitioner of international relations in the public sector. He holds a Masters degree in Political Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand. He has been a practitioner of international relations for more than 10 years, working in various sectors and organizations such as the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Southern African Liaison Office (NGO), the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa and the Commission on Human Rights. .
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