Inside South Africa’s Foreign Policy

ISBN: 9781784537364 出版年：2014 页码：350 John Siko Bloomsbury Publishing

South Africa is a major player in African diplomacy. Its economic, diplomatic and military resources far outstrip those of other nations on the continent, and it has, since the country's 1994 democratic transition, sought role in the continent's relations with other power blocs, particularly during the 1999-2008 presidency of Thabo Mbeki. While Mbeki's push for greater African engagement in the global political sphere drew widespread praise, other positions-notably its seeming inaction toward Zimbabwe and perceived abandonment of its stated emphasis on human rights in foreignpolicy-were more controversial, both at home and abroad. John Siko has had insider access to South Africa's leading foreign policy players, and has bewhy Pretoria has taken its various stances and who has mattered in influencing those decisions, a topic little examined since 1994. In addition, he examines the foreign policy process over the past century, determining that despite ANC promises of greater democratic engagement on foreign policy, the process has changed quite little.