Reform in defence of sovereignty: South Africa in the UN Security Council, 2007–2008

After 1994, South Africa became the sine qua non of an internationalist state, willing to promote cooperation amongst a plurality of actors, believing common interests to be more important than their differences. This raised the hopes of constitutionalists, and those who believed in the expansion of a liberal democratic peace. South Africa has acted out two seemingly contradictory roles: those of a reformer and those of a conserver. By 2007–2008 she had shifted towards the latter, conservative-reformist position. Thus, South Africa's voting record at the General Assembly expressed her overriding concern to regionalise African issues and minimise the US and the West shaping political events. This brought her foreign policy into sharper relief. But while in some sense successful, it came at a price: a controversy about her surrendering her internationalism and principles on human rights for African unity and traditional sovereignty. But it also marked the arrival of South Africa in the world of international Realpolitik

External and domestic sources of foreign policy ambiguity: South African foreign policy and the projection of pluralist middle power

As a pluralist middle power, post-apartheid South Africa seeks to generate successful foreign policy initiatives at bilateral, multilateral and regional levels in order to shape international outcomes. In this endeavour, it has three important political resources – a recognition of its geo-political position and importance as a democratic yardstick and reformer; its acceptance of a transnational, neo-liberal elite alliance and finally, recognition of its leadership role from forces wishing to challenge African political establishments. However, the international and domestic political environment which in the mid-1990s was favourable towards middle-power initiative and reform has narrowed

How much its own and to what end?: SADC and the culture of security and regional organisation in Southern Africa

This book aims to examine the conceptions and practices of security adopted by Regional Organisations (ROs) across the globe. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been an increased focus on regions as a relevant realm for security, with actors within regional contexts identifying a significant degree of interdependency between one another. As a consequence, international security has taken on a distinct regionally institutionalised character, as seen by the increase in calls for greater utilisation of ‘Chapter VIII: Regional Arrangements’ of the UN, in order to create a devolved UN-led system of global security management. However, the idea of a system of global security management is a remote prospect, because divergence seems to be as important as commonality in terms of regional security

Reform in Defence of Sovereignty: South Africa in the UN Security Council, 2007-2008 Reformen zur Verteidigung von Souveränität: Die Republik Südafrika im UN-Sicherheitsrat 2007-2008

After 1994, South Africa became the sine qua non of an interna¬tionalist state, willing to promote cooperation amongst a plurality of actors, believing common interests to be more important than their differences. This raised the hopes of constitutionalists, and those who believed in the expansion of a liberal democratic peace. South Africa has acted out two seemingly contradictory roles: those of a reformer and those of a conserver. By 2007-2008 she had shifted towards the latter, conservative-reformist position. Thus, South Africa’s voting record at the General Assembly expressed her overriding concern to regionalise African issues and minimise the US and the West shaping political events. This brought her foreign policy into sharper relief. But while in some sense successful, it came at a price: a controversy about her surrendering her internationalism and principles on human rights for African unity and traditional sovereignty. But it also marked the arrival of South Africa in the world of international Realpolitik. Nach 1994 profilierte sich das neue Südafrika zunächst als internationalistischer Staat, gewillt, die Zusammenarbeit zwischen den unterschiedlichen internationalen Akteuren zu fördern – im Glauben, wichtiger als alle Differenzen seien die gemeinsamen Interessen. In der Folgezeit übernahm der Staat in der internationalen politischen Arena zwei gegensätzliche Rollen und zeigte sich zwar reformorientiert, vertrat aber auch konservativere Positionen. Seit den Jahren 2007-2008 überwog zunehmend die konservative Rolle. Bei Abstimmungen in der Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen erwies sich deutlich, dass die Republik Südafrika überragendes Interesse an einer Regionalisierung afrikanischer Problembereiche hatte und an einer Minimierung der politischen Gestaltungsmacht der USA beziehungsweise des Westens. Damit erhielt die südafrikanische Außenpolitik ein klares Profil und konnte gewisse Erfolge erzielen – andererseits wurde kontrovers beurteilt, ob nicht die politische Führung den Internationalismus und die Orientierung an den Menschenrechten zugunsten der Einheit Afrikas und des traditionellen Souveränitätsgedankens aufgegeben habe. Südafrika war in der Welt der internationalen Realpolitik angekommen

Reformen zur Verteidigung von Souveränität: Die Republik Südafrika im UN-Sicherheitsrat 2007-2008

After 1994, South Africa became the sine qua non of an interna¬tionalist state, willing to promote cooperation amongst a plurality of actors, believing common interests to be more important than their differences. This raised the hopes of constitutionalists, and those who believed in the expansion of a liberal democratic peace. South Africa has acted out two seemingly contradictory roles: those of a reformer and those of a conserver. By 2007-2008 she had shifted towards the latter, conservative-reformist position. Thus, South Africa’s voting record at the General Assembly expressed her overriding concern to regionalise African issues and minimise the US and the West shaping political events. This brought her foreign policy into sharper relief. But while in some sense successful, it came at a price: a controversy about her surrendering her internationalism and principles on human rights for African unity and traditional sovereignty. But it also marked the arrival of South Africa in the world of international Realpolitik.Nach 1994 profilierte sich das neue Südafrika zunächst als internationalistischer Staat, gewillt, die Zusammenarbeit zwischen den unterschiedlichen internationalen Akteuren zu fördern – im Glauben, wichtiger als alle Differenzen seien die gemeinsamen Interessen. In der Folgezeit übernahm der Staat in der internationalen politischen Arena zwei gegensätzliche Rollen und zeigte sich zwar reformorientiert, vertrat aber auch konservativere Positionen. Seit den Jahren 2007-2008 überwog zunehmend die konservative Rolle. Bei Abstimmungen in der Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen erwies sich deutlich, dass die Republik Südafrika überragendes Interesse an einer Regionalisierung afrikanischer Problembereiche hatte und an einer Minimierung der politischen Gestaltungsmacht der USA beziehungsweise des Westens. Damit erhielt die südafrikanische Außenpolitik ein klares Profil und konnte gewisse Erfolge erzielen – andererseits wurde kontrovers beurteilt, ob nicht die politische Führung den Internationalismus und die Orientierung an den Menschenrechten zugunsten der Einheit Afrikas und des traditionellen Souveränitätsgedankens aufgegeben habe. Südafrika war in der Welt der internationalen Realpolitik angekommen

Conclusion: The diversity of contemporary African foreign policy: Selecting Signifiers to explain Agency

This book explores, at a time when several powers have become serious players on the continent, aspects of African agency, past and present, by African writers on foreign policy, representative of geography, language and state size

"The French Imperial Nation-State":

Book Review. The French Imperial Nation-State. By G Wilder (2005)

African Foreign Policies: Selecting signifiers to explain agency

This book explores, at a time when several powers have become serious players on the continent, aspects of African agency, past and present, by African writers on foreign policy, representative of geography, language and state size

The reflection on peace agreements in Africa: feature

For Africa, the advent of globalisation, delivered in the shape of Structural Adjustment Programmes in the period from the early 1980s, ushered in the beginning of the end of the nation-building framework adopted at independence. Government's withdrawal from social, intellectual and economic areas of life brought into sharp relief the vulnerability of both state and society. Accompanied on the foreign policy front by a loss of Big Power protection after the Cold War ended, 'low and intrastate politics' came to the fore