Interests, ideas and ideology
South Africa's Policy on Darfur
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6021059 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laurie Nathan (0000-0001-8588-958X, London School of Economics and Political Science, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 110 |
| Issue | 438 |
| Pages | 55-74 |
| Publication date | 2011-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-9909 • E-ISSN: 1468-2621 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/afraf/adq058 |
| OpenAlex | W1970436849 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 3 |
Under former President Mbeki, South Africa provoked international dismay and criticism when it tried to block United Nations censure of Burma, Sudan, and Zimbabwe for gross human rights abuses. In the case of Sudan, Pretoria stood accused of turning a blind eye to Khartoum's excessive and indiscriminate violence in Darfur, betraying South Africa's own struggle for democracy and commitment to promoting human rights. This article seeks to shed light on Pretoria's foreign policy by explaining its position on Darfur and exploring the relationship between ideas and interests in shaping the policy. I argue that the position on Darfur was not unfathomable or realist, as some observers claimed, but was based on the core ideas of South Africa's foreign policy: the African Renaissance; quiet diplomacy as the most effective means of dealing with pariah regimes; solidarity with African governments under pressure from the West; and an anti-imperialist paradigm that provided the lens through which the government viewed the global order, defined the country's interests, and conceptualized human rights. Whereas most studies of Pretoria's foreign conduct pay little heed to the policies of the ruling party, I show that the conduct flowed logically from the party's anti-imperialist ideology.
Cape · Ideology · Library science · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance
Bibliography of Books and Articles Published in English on Colonialism and Imperialism in 2011
South Africa and Africom
A battle of principles
A responsibility to protect Africa from the West? South Africa and the Nato intervention in Libya
Regional Influences on Mediation Behavior
South Africa’s Foreign Policy and the BRICS Formation
South Africa’s Foreign Policy and Africa
Understanding bricolage in norm development
What is to be done?’ Rethinking socialism(s) and socialist legacies in a postcolonial world
African Solutions to African Challenges
Scholarship on South Africa’s Foreign Policy Behaviour
South Africa’s Reform Diplomacy and the Legitimacy of the UN Security Council
Our identity is our currency
| Citations per year | 0.93 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2021 (10) |
| Highly cited | No |