Defining a South African Foreign Policy for the 2020s : Challenges, Constraints and Opportunities

This chapter is the introductory chapter to a volume that seeks to identify some of the lessons that can be learned from a review of South Africa’s international relations over the last quarter century and makes suggestions on how South Africa could respond to the international challenges it is likely to face over the next decade. It is by no means comprehensive, but it is intended to contribute to a conversation about how the country can derive maximum advantage from its international engagements in a multipolar, highly volatile, interdependent and complex world.Some of the policy relevant questions that the subsequent chapters will explore include:• How should South Africa define its national interest and what role should this play in determining South Africa’s foreign policy priorities?• What role should South Africa’s international economic diplomacy play in dealing with the domestic challenges of inequality, unemployment, poverty and promoting sustainable development?• What are the optimal institutional arrangements for developing and implementing an effective South African foreign policy?• On what issues on the global governance agenda, should South Africa seek a leading role?• What lessons can Pretoria learn from its peace and security agenda over the last quarter century?• How can DIRCO engage most effectively with non-state actors in implementing South Africa’s foreign policy imperatives?This introductory chapter raises some of the key issues, relevant to answering these questions, that are discussed in the contributions to this volume and places them in context. In order to do this the chapter is divided into six sections. The first section describes South Africa’s efforts to define its national interest. The next section discusses South Africa’s soft power. The third section considers whether South Africa should be considered a middle or a regional power and how that determines its behavior in the international realm. This is followed by a discussion of South Africa in the context of Africa. The fifth section focuses on possible South African responses to the challenges it will face in its international relations during the next decade. The final section provides an overview of the chapters in this volume