Understanding South Africa's foreign policy
The perplexing case of Zimbabwe
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5937239 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Merle Lipton (Chatham House, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 331-346 |
| Publication date | 2009-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | South African Journal of International Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1022-0461 • E-ISSN: 1938-0275 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10220460903495181 |
| OpenAlex | W2041465334 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 10 |
Many who have admired the African National Congress are confused and dismayed by post-apartheid South Africa's foreign policy on human rights and good governance, exemplified by its most important policy test to date, viz. Zimbabwe. It is argued below that understanding this policy in terms of the widely-used explanation that it represents ‘a shift from idealism to realism’ is unsatisfactory. This state-centric framework, focused on ‘national’ interests and ideals cannot accommodate the wide range of interests, ideals, and other factors that shape the policy. Instead, this investigation assumes that all foreign policies involve a close interaction between ‘realism’ (interest-driven analysis) and ‘idealism’ (beliefs/values-driven analysis). In addition to exploring this interaction, this paper also touches briefly and tentatively on the following questions: how well has South Africa's foreign policy been calculated and implemented, and what have been its effects and consequences for South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the ‘progressive’ international norms to which both South Africa and many of its critics subscribe. A subsidiary aim is to clarify some misunderstandings between South Africa and the West that frequently lead to their ‘talking past each other’ on this, and other, issues of human rights and good governance
Corporate governance · Development economics · Economics · Epistemology · Foreign policy · Good governance · Human rights · Idealism · International relations · Management · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Realism · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · International Development and Aid · Law
The evolution of South Africa's democracy promotion in Africa
Life narrative and the possibilities of self
A Decade of Disquieting Diplomacy
A battle of principles
Global health in foreign policy--and foreign policy in health? Evidence from the BRICS
Two perspectives on Zimbabwe's National Democratic Revolution
Twenty Years on, It's All Academic
Scholarship on South Africa’s Foreign Policy Behaviour
Securitisation from below
Zimbabwe's Foreign Policy Under Mnangagwa
The third wave
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,69 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2026 (17) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |