South Africa’s role in global peace and security: Thirty Years of conflict resolution and a post-2024 foreign policy strategy

This article assesses the foreign policy roles of Nigeria and South Africa, given their status as regional powers, and the regional complexes within which they operate. Drawing references from a plethora of policies and speeches of the Presidents of the two States, this article argues that CFP, given its emphasis on foreign policy decision-making processes related to momentous events as well as its implication in day-to-day events, is useful as a theoretical framework in this assessment. Nigeria and South Africa are both active state actors in the international system. Unarguably, Nigeria and South Africa are two important nations in the continent of Africa whose foreign policy actions and inactions are crucial to the desire development of their areas of regional and global influence, particularly for the African continent. Methodologically, it employs the use of comparative analysis relying solely on secondary information for data generation and analysis of the direction of the foreign policy of Nigeria and South Africa. The article contributes to the literature by illustrating the potential impact and regional implications of foreign policy analysis as an approach to international relations (IR), within which the behavior of these two African States can be analyzed in the wake of new members into BRICS, African Union (AU) been made a permanent member of the G20, giving the continent an important voice on key global issues. Noting that the dynamic evolving role of South Africa and Nigeria in the global arena, should be expected to increase positioning Africa in decision making process of both regional and world politics; regional and global peace and security, such as in Ukraine crisis and reform within the United Nations security Council. Both countries need to unite their efforts and practical strategies to advance the common goal of Africa development, peace and security.

Foreign policy as one of the key areas for the functioning of sovereign states is designed to protect their national interests and promote maintenance of the welfare of the population. For Ukraine, such vectors of foreign policy as European, Euro-Atlantic, Eurasian, Middle Eastern, and Asian are traditionally important. One of the main vectors of Ukraine's foreign policy at the current stage is integration into the European Union. At the same time, an extremely important task for Ukrainian diplomacy is countering Russian aggression, protection of the population in the East of the state and in the Crimea and the soonest possible resolution of the conflict in the Donbas region. Consequently, this topic is of considerable interest, and it is worth examining in detail the current state of Ukraine's foreign policy, in particular, in view of the current challenges of global and regional security. Analysis of foreign and Ukrainian sources on this topic indicates the interest of researchers in matters of foreign policy of Ukraine, as well as international conflicts and their settlement. The purpose of this article is to study the current state of Ukraine's foreign policy in the context of the current challenges of global and regional security. Based on the analysis, it was determined that at the current stage there is sufficient potential for further development of Ukraine's foreign policy, in particular in view of the current challenges of global and regional security. On the basis of the analysis, one can arrive at conclusions that among the successes of Ukraine's foreign policy in recent years one can mention withstanding Russian aggression, introduction of a visa-free regime with the European Union, further deepening of cooperation within the framework of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and deepening of Euro-Atlantic integration. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the effective use of the foreign policy resource to efficiently respond to the challenges of global and regional security. There are further prospects for research related to the effective resolution of international conflicts at the current stage.

One of the South Africa's great soft power attributes has been the attraction and power of its transition to inclusive democratic governance after a long period of apartheid rule. This gave South Africa a certain moral authority and prestige to play very significant roles in conflict resolution and mediation through peacekeeping operations. Every government in an ever-changing and dynamic geopolitical environment ensure that its defence force cum foreign policy conform to the international environment while aiming at the defence and protection of its national interests. Using interpretive approach; this work argues that; fundamentally, there are three basic factors that reinforce South Africa’s participation in peacekeeping which are politics, economy and security. By extension these three elements is considered a transformational agent of South Africa’s economy. SANDF is, therefore, considered a dynamic and exceptional foreign policy tool that complements and at same time enhances South Africa’s diplomatic manoeuvrings and influence within the wider international developments. It is concluded that South Africa’s multilateral and foreign policy agendas have been driven by the pursuit of its national interest while trying to ensure peace in other African states.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review current literature on peace leadership and youth leadership. It aims to shed a light on the extent to which peace leadership can afford youth leaders and youth peace activists to engage in peace processes and peacebuilding initiatives. By understanding how notions of peace leadership are realized in youth leadership practices, the paper hopes to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on advancing the practice of peace leadership for present and future young leaders. Design/methodology/approach The literature review explored peace leadership from the approaches of peacebuilding processes, nonviolence, and an integral perspective; expanded the current understanding of youth leadership by presenting the theoretical foundations and the role of youth in leadership that align with an advanced view of youth leadership; and described the intersection of peace leadership and youth leadership by identifying how youth leadership is related to peace leadership within three overarching contexts: political systems, schools, and communities. Findings The literature review highlights the reciprocity between peace leadership and youth leadership. It identifies nonviolence, communication, dialogue, conflict resolution, mediation, building social capital, and relationship building as practices in which youth leaders engage in to promote peaceful and sustainable change in varying contexts. Originality/value This review of the literature presents the need for further research on the intersection of peace leadership with youth leadership to help advance both areas within the field of leadership studies and understand how peace leadership for youth informs leadership theory and practice across contexts and areas of discipline.

Introduction - shedding the past, shaping the future, David Simon. Part 1 Population and mobility: obscuring history? contemporary patterns of regional migration to South Africa, Sally Peberdy gender, labour markets and migration in and from Botswana, Kavita Datta the sexual and economic politics of (re)integration - HIV/AIDS and the question of stability in southern Africa, Doug Webb. Part 2 Transcending the past - the politics of dis- and re-engagement: in the wake of war - military transitions in southern Africa, Susan Willett small arms proliferation - a major challenge for post-apartheid South and southern Africa, Alex Vines South Africa's foreign policy - from isolation to respectability?, Greg Mills nature has the power to heal old wounds - war, peace and changing patterns of conservation in southern Africa, Eddie Koch. Part 3 Changing geographies of production and economic integration: the changing role of sugar as a vehicle for economic development within southern Africa, Steve Atkins and Alan Terry lessons unlearned -South Africa's one-way relationship with Zimbabwe, Colin Stoneman desert enclave to regional gateway? Walvis Bay's reintegration into Namibia, David Simon powering the region - South Africa and the southern Africa power pool, Tore Horvei SADC, COMESA, SACU -contradictory formats for regional integration in southern Africa?, James Sidaway prospects for the region, David Simon.

Humility is an essential foundation for peace leadership, serving as a critical lens through which leaders can navigate the complexities of peacebuilding and conflict resolution. The article Without Humility, There Can Be No Peace Leadership explores the indispensable connection between humility and peace leadership, positing that without humility, effective peace leadership is unattainable. Drawing on Sowcik's (The H‐Factor: The Intersection Between Humility and Great Leadership. New Degree Press) definition of humility as “a proper perspective of oneself, one's relationship with others, and one's connection to something bigger,” the article integrates existing research on humility with the Integral Peace Leadership Model, which emphasizes self‐awareness, interpersonal connection, and systemic awareness. The paper underscores how humility fosters self‐reflection, adaptability, and resilience, while enabling leaders to engage in inclusive, relationship‐centered practices essential for trust and collaboration. It also emphasizes humility's role in counterbalancing power dynamics, mitigating ego‐driven behaviors, and anchoring leadership in a commitment to collective well‐being. By examining diverse perspectives, including non‐Western and spiritual frameworks, the paper highlights how humility transcends cultural boundaries to support transformative peacebuilding.

The decision to declare a state of emergency in July 1985 was — in foreign policy terms — a calculated risk: it exacerbated the dilemmas which the adoption of a reform programme imposed upon the state, and created difficulties for Western governments which had hitherto supported reform. For a brief period South Africa gained a respite in the clamour for sanctions following the decision of the Commonwealth Conference in the Bahamas in October 1985 to send an Eminent Persons Group to South Africa. ‘Liberalism abroad, repression at home’ sums up this phase of South Africa’s foreign policy, but one which ended with the collapse of Portuguese rule in Angola and Mozambique in 1974. Between 1976 and 1984 the linkage between foreign and domestic policy was reinforced as the South African government, making a virtue out of necessity, began a programme of piecemeal reform in reaction to a combination of internal and external pressures.

The political and economic debacle in Zimbabwe has led to a large-scale influx of Zimbabweans into neighbouring South Africa. This article argues that there is a complex and significant link between the domestic response to this immigration influx and South Africa's foreign policy towards Zimbabwe. South Africa's foreign and security policy elite preferred to use an immigration approach of benign neglect as a tool to promote its ‘quiet diplomacy’ approach towards the Zimbabwean regime, treating the influx as a ‘non-problem’. But increased xenophobic violence, vigilantism and protests in townships and informal settlements against Zimbabwean and other African immigrants, culminating in widespread riots across the country in 2008, contributed to a change not only in immigration policy but also in the mediation efforts towards the Zimbabwean parties. I argue that this foreign policy change was pushed by a process of ‘securitisation from below’, where the understanding of Zimbabwean immigrants as a security threat were promoted not by traditional security elites but by South Africa's marginalised urban poor.

This article focuses on the role of Ubuntu in South Africa’s foreign policy. Since independence, African intellectuals have tried to develop their own strategies and approaches to solve problems on the continent. These ideas were aimed at rescuing the African younger generation from enslavement by Western culture, to invent new approaches and to reanimate traditional concepts that would contribute not only to the revival but also to the protection of African culture. They were designed to promote traditional values both within the African continent and globally, to be the antithesis of Eurocentrism, to carve new Afrocentric ideas from their own historical experience and current conditions, socio-economic priorities, with African interests at their center. Among modern concepts aimed at protecting Africans and promoting the African position on the global arena is the traditional philosophical system of Ubuntu. It is the ideas of Ubuntu that have been adopted by South African politicians back in the late 90s and formed the basis of South Africa’s foreign and domestic policy. In 2011, the White Paper “Building a Better World: Ubuntu Diplomacy” was published, proclaiming the promotion of a multipolar, just and equitable world order and the desire for development and prosperity in Africa as one of its main theses. South Africa was the first state of the continent to base its foreign policy document on one of the main codes of African identity: Ubuntu. This gave the foreign policy document an African character.The Republic of South Africa presents a unique example of an attempt to implement into state strategy a philosophical concept that is a defining element of African identity, a significant part of the traditional culture for more than 350 million people living almost all over sub-Saharan Africa. The notion of Ubuntu is also reflected in the state documents of the Congo, the Republic of Chad, Uganda, as well as Kenya (harambei). By promoting the Ubuntu philosophy, South Africa claims the existence of African values, spreading their importance in the international space through various instruments of public diplomacy. Various magazines, radio stations and a national Ubuntu Awards have been created. All these tools are aimed at informing and sensitizing the public about South Africa’s foreign policy, promoting a multipolar world and establishing an alternative model to the Western system of individualism.

In the three decades since the end of apartheid, South Africa's foreign policy has aimed to maintain friendly relationships with countries in the Global North, while also fostering economic ties with nations in the Global South. Additionally, it has sought to normalize and strengthen relations with African countries, particularly those in Southern Africa. There is a growing consensus among scholars that since the presidencies of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's foreign policy has entered a crisis phase, characterized by a greater emphasis on aligning foreign policy with the country's economic needs and a decline in proactive initiatives within Africa. Drawing on archival sources, official South African government documents, and extensive secondary literature this essay explores the evolution of South Africa's foreign policy in the post-apartheid era and highlights the continuities and changes under various presidencies over the past thirty years. Contrary to much recent literature, this analysis suggests that the foundations of South Africa's post-apartheid foreign policy were established by Mandela and Mbeki. Subsequent leaders, Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa, have continued to follow a path that was already laid out. While South Africa is currently an influential voice in the Global South, its foreign policy reveals significant contradictions. First, Pretoria has not yet ensured that its foreign policy contributes to a more inclusive model of economic development, both domestically and globally. Second, it remains unclear how South Africa intends to promote security in Africa without a strong commitment to strengthening democratic institutions.

This study aims to comprehensively address the foreign policy cooperation processes shaped at the European Union (EU) level, especially in the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), through the concept of Europeanization. In-depth analysis of the effects of the EU's integration and cooperation processes in the field of foreign policy on the national foreign policies of the member states is of great importance in understanding how this interaction is shaped both at the European and national levels. In this framework, it will be analyzed in detail how the EU's common foreign policy practices, which have been developed to increase its global influence, have harmonized with national interests and how they have sometimes come into conflict with these interests. Thus, it will be revealed how the EU's foreign policy strategies and national foreign policy dynamics interact. In this context, this study aims to examine the challenges faced by the EU in the foreign policy-making process and the historical, theoretical and practical obstacles in solving these challenges within the framework of the concept of Europeanization. It aims to analyze the development of foreign policy cooperation within the EU, especially in the period starting with the Maastricht Treaty, and the balance between the member states' desire to protect their national sovereignty and their efforts to establish a common foreign policy. In doing so, the scope and dimensions of the Europeanization process of national foreign policies in the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy will be discussed and the formation process of the EU foreign policy and the important turning points in this process will be analyzed.

This study aims to review South Africa’s multilateral response to the Russia-Ukraine war concerning the discourse of international law and South Africa’s national interests. The response was met with significant backlash. However, it elucidates several imperatives, notably, the power politics of international law, South Africa’s advocacy of multilateralism, and its obligation to the BRICS bloc. This research adopts a qualitative research approach and uses the theory of Realism. Recent 2023 developments in South Africa concerning International law and the Russia-Ukraine war have sparked huge debates across international relations and academia. Topics of war crime, alliance, BRICS summit, and international law have continued dominating the mist surrounding these events and their impact. Arguably, in international relations, post-economic crisis tends to compel states to adopt a realist attitude towards their foreign policy to see through their national interests. However, due to the geopolitical and global economic crisis, protectionism in the international space has become contemporaneous, where every country enforces Realism in their foreign policy using their sovereign capacity and influence in the international space. However, such creates a beggar-thy-neighbour effect on their counterparts. South Africa finds itself being affected by these foreign protectionist policies. When the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest to South Africa against the President of Russia, this was followed by debates on notions of law and litigation; however, at the center of these debates is the South African dilemma between international law and economic cooperation with the BRICS bloc. The arguments following the dilemma have alluded to South Africa hosting a successful BRICS summit, and the execution of the warrant as South Africa remains a signatory of the Rome statute. In assessing the justification of this warrant was the relevance of international law to South Africa.

«М’ЯКА СИЛА» ЯК ХАРАКТЕРНА ОЗНАКА ПОЛІТИЧНОГО ВПЛИВУ ВЕЛИКОЇ ДЕРЖАВИ ЗАУМОВ БАГАТОПОЛЯРНОГО СВІТУ В ЛАТИНОАМЕРИКАНСЬКОМУ РЕГІОНІ

Turkey’s State Crisis: Institutions, Reform and Conflict

The United Nations (UN), which is the largest intergovernmental organization (INGO), has a structure mainly focused on global security which is the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). South Africa, which has got Africa’s biggest economy and most politically stable, has embodied the principle of decolonisation through the Ubuntu principle. The South African government’s key foreign policy objectives seek to advance decolonisation, globally and continentally. These objectives include monitoring international developments, promoting inclusive economic growth and shared prosperity for Africa and its people, building unity, and protecting South Africa’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. This study sought to explore South Africa’s foreign policy objectives in addressing decolonisation within the UNSC through reform. It employed the exploratory research design in addressing South Africa’s foreign policy objectives towards the reform of the UNSC. Furthermore, the study relied on document analysis. The findings show that the process of decolonisation within the UNSC is occurring at a very slow pace, although significant progress has been made within the African Union regarding the decolonisation agenda. The study emphasises the need for an African permanent member with veto power on the UNSC. This would allow Africa to have a strong voice in protecting its interests. The study’s findings can be used by the South African government’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) to inform its foreign policy formulation. Keywords: Decolonization, Foreign Policy, South Africa, UNSC, Reform, Ubuntu