Abstract
South Africa’s sub-regional strategies have evolved through different phases since the country achieved democracy in 1994 and the sub-regional dimension has since been an important preoccupation in Pretoria’s post-apartheid foreign policy. This has witnessed South Africa playing an active role in the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) integration process and, at the official level, projecting an image of an equal partner rather than an aggressive hegemon, which was a hallmark of the apartheid regime’s regional strategy. Of course there are divergent views on the precise nature of South Africa’s approach towards the region: is it a hegemon or a partner,1 or has Pretoria used SADC as an organisational cloak to advance its own interests.2 Other commentators have argued that South Africa should play the role of a ‘pivotal state’ in the region, arguing that the country should not shy away from playing a visible leadership or even hegemonic role in the region.3
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Notes
See Ahwireng-Obeng, F. and McGowan, P. J., ‘Partner or Hegemon? South Africa in Africa’ in Jim Broderick, et al. (eds), South Africa’s Foreign Policy: Dilemmas of a New Democracy ( London: Palgrave, 2001 ).
See Lieberman, E., ‘Organisational Cloaking in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa: The Southern African Development Community (SADC)’, Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, 34 (1997) pp. 86–107.
See Habib, A. and Selinyane, N., ‘South Africa’s Foreign Policy and a Realistic Vision of an African Century’, in Elizabeth Sidropoulos (eds), South Africa’s Foreign Policy 1994–2004: Africa Past, Renaissance Future ( Johannesburg: SAIIA, 2004 ).
Rob Davies, ‘Building a New Relationship in Southern Africa’, in Bjorn Hettne, Andras Inotai and Osvaldo Sunkel (eds), Globalism and The New Regionalism ( London: Macmillan, 1999 ) p. 267.
Taylor, I., ‘Good Governance or Good for Business: South Africa’s regionalist project and the African Renaissance’ in Shaun Breslin et al. (eds.), New Regionalisms in the Global Political Economy ( London: Routledge, 2004 ) p. 191.
Daniel, J., et al., ‘South African Expansion into Africa: Can the leopard change its spots?’ in South African Labour Bulletin, 27:5 (2003) p. 15.
Helpman, A., ‘Politics and Trade Policy’ in R. E. Baldwin, et al. (eds), Market Integration, Regionalism and the Global Economy ( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999 ) p. 106.
Asante, S. K. B., Regionalism and Africa’s Development, ( Macmillan: London, 1999 ), p. 69.
See Dunne, T. and Schmidt, B. ‘Realism’ in John Baylis and Steve Smith (eds), The Globalization of World Politics ( Oxford: Oxford University Press, Second edition, 2001 ) p. 152
Buzan, B., et al., Security: A New Framework for Analysis (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1998) p. 21. Note that securitisation is often invoked by state representatives to justify using whatever means necessary to block a particular threat.
Chan, S. and Primorac, R., ‘The Imagination of Land and the Reality of Seizure: Zimbabwe’s Complex Reinventions’, Journal of International Affairs, 57:2 (2004) p. 70.
See Taylor, I. and Williams, P., ‘The Limits of Engagement: British Foreign Policy and the Crisis in Zimbabwe’, International Affairs, 78:3 (2002) pp. 547–66
Taylor, I., ‘The New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the Zimbabwe Elections: Implications and Prospects for the Future’, African Affairs, 101:404 (2002) pp. 403–12
Alden, C. and Schoeman, M., ‘The Hegemon that Wasn’t: South Africa’s Foreign Policy towards Zimbabwe’, Strategic Review for Southern Africa, 25:1 (2003) pp. 1–28.
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© 2006 Mzukisi Qobo
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Qobo, M. (2006). Dilemmas in South Africa’s Regional Strategy. In: Lee, D., Taylor, I., Williams, P.D. (eds) The New Multilateralism in South African Diplomacy. Studies in Diplomacy and International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230503830_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230503830_7
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