Abstract
The end of apartheid in 1994 brought with it many domestic and international expectations about the kind of state the new South Africa would be and the foreign policies it would pursue. Many expected South Africa to pursue a human-rights-based foreign policy, but instead it has pursued a much more paradoxical foreign policy, with significant gaps between its stated commitments to human rights principles and its actions in support of those principles. This article explains these gaps. Delving into the literature on norms-based and interest-based explanations of state behavior, we argue that both approaches help explain South Africa's foreign policy actions. However, it is the unsettled nature of its identities and interests after 1994, as its leaders (particularly Thabo Mbeki) sought to reconcile a commitment to democracy and human rights with equally strong (if not greater) commitments to Afrocentrism and anti-imperialism, that provides the most interesting avenues for exploration.
Highlights
This early optimism, it turns out, was premature
Why did the world expect South Africa to act in a certain way internationally? In other words, what led to the expectation that South Africa’s history of human rights abuses would translate into a future of human rights activism when democracy arrived with the election of Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC)? Secondly, why has South Africa been so disappointing in this area? In this article, we try to answer these questions
Mandela summed up his vision of South Africa’s role in fostering a more just and humane world by stating, “South Africa's future foreign relations will be based on our belief that human rights should be the core concern of international relations, and we are ready to play a role in fostering peace and prosperity in the world we share with the community of nations” (Mandela 1993, 97)
Summary
This early optimism, it turns out, was premature. The reality has been somewhat less positive than human right activists had hoped for; South Africa’s foreign policy since 1994 might best be described as one of disparity between commitment and action.
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