South Africa’s international relations department published a document on August 1 setting out the country’s new foreign policy.
The outline of South Africa’s national interests is an important paper that sets out how the country will relate to the rest of the world for some time to come.
Governments are often cautious, for various reasons, about communicating their national interests. This is the first effort by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to contextualize South Africa’s national interests.
But the document falls short in key respects. The first flaw is its title, Framework on South Africa’s National Interest and its Advancement in a Global Environment. It speaks of the national “interest”, but in international relations there isn’t just one interest.
It’s also unclear what practical purpose its drafters envisaged it serving or who its intended audience is. It’s unclear if it is to guide government policy, direct South African investment, or inform the country’s allies and friends. That’s not to say that the document has no value. It will be used extensively in future debates and analyses of South African foreign policy. And it may be a guideline for policy.
Three general points ought to be made.
First, the document doesn’t have a geographical outline of South Africa’s interests. The business sector will be looking for the importance of specific geographical regions.
Reading between the lines, Africa seems to be a critically important region for South Africa. But the country, traditionally, has important export interests in Europe. It is the EU’s largest trading partner in Africa. The EU, excluding the UK, accounts for 22% of South African trade. Trade with the rest of Africa constitutes 16%.
More recently the Brics bloc – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has become important for South Africa’s national interests. Trade with Brics constitutes 59% of the country’s imports and 41% of its exports; 94% of this trade is done with
China and India and only 2% with Russia.
The war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of a clear articulation of South African national interests in geographical terms. A lot has recently been said about Pretoria’s diplomatic support for Russia, and the dichotomy between South African support for the Palestinians as the victims, but not for Ukraine. This raises a question as to the guiding principles of human rights in South Africa’s foreign policy.
Second, the document’s outline of South Africa’s national interests is stating the obvious. The different interests address the general well-being of society, nothing else. The constitutional order, the safety of society, economic prosperity, a better world are not national interests.
The focus seems to be on domestic interests instead of public interests. A better Africa and world is the only interest that is defined within the context of foreign policy.
What are the things South Africa would be willing to deploy its military to protect and defend if threatened? Is the flow of water from Lesotho of vital interest to South Africa, and when is illegal immigration a threat to vital interests? These questions are left unanswered.
Third, the outline of the national interest, without the “s”, raises questions as to why the government appears reluctant to be explicit. This at a time when direction is urgently needed in an international order that is increasingly complex.
Domestic and historical realities – the eradication of the legacy of apartheid and overcoming the triple challenges of inequality, unemployment and poverty – seem to be the key drivers, rather than the dynamic nature of global and national affairs.
The document seems to express the ideological orientation of the governing elite, more than material interests that ought to drive good governance. It is more of a policy document than a guideline for the practice of diplomacy, military statecraft and trade.
The discussion of who is responsible for implementing the country’s foreign policy is limited to generic realities.
The military, for example, is often the lead instrument of foreign policy in Africa, especially in the conduct of peace missions. The business community is also at the leading edge of South Africa’s foreign policy interests. What practical realities should the business community keep in mind when they do business in Europe, China or South America? These questions are also not answered.
- Esterhuyse is associate professor of strategy, faculty of military science at Stellenbosch University. This article first appeared on The Conversation
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