A Decade of Disquieting Diplomacy: South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Ideology of the National Democratic Revolution, 1999–2009

Abstract

AbstractReflections on South African diplomacy regarding Zimbabwe, inspired by hopes that Nelson Mandela’s discourse of cross‐border support for liberal human rights would continue after his departure, are pervaded by disquiet. They suggest that Thabo Mbeki’s ‘quiet diplomacy’ during the decade of his incumbency indicated either cynical realpolitik or enthusiastic support for a dictator, under the guise of supporting Zimbabwean sovereignty and pan‐Africanism. This more nuanced article takes ideas seriously by closely examining a long Mbeki text on the question of Zimbabwe, underpinned by the Soviet‐inspired ‘national democratic revolution’ ideology. This ‘NDR’ discourse illustrates much about the contradictions of ‘marxists’ in power in a world far from approaching the ideology’s progenitors’ expectations, regarding both foreign policy and further realms of ‘democracy’. Examination of the text thus illustrates the petards upon which many African rulers rest, pointing to even more disquiet for advocates of liberal (or socialist) democracy – abroad and at home.