South Africa: The Ambiguities of a Middle Power

ABSTRACT South Africa represents an interesting species of a middle power. This derives from its inherited economic muscle as Africa's powerhouse and the liberation struggle against apartheid, both of which have shaped its democratic transition. The traditions of liberation and democracy, in turn, have profoundly influenced how South Africa has conducted its foreign policy under the ruling African National Congress. Its external relations derive their logic from a firm belief in the compatibility of human rights, democracy, solidarity diplomacy, active internationalism and the country's own development imperatives aimed at addressing the racial deprivations of the apartheid past. However, the country has faltered in responding to fast‐changing, complex and demanding exigencies at home and abroad. Although it has certainly registered impressive gains as a respected ‘norm entrepreneur’ on the global stage, which has burnished its multilateral credentials, its global brand and image have suffered because of an increasing pathological syndrome at home, which includes corruption, poor governance, abuse of public resources, compounded by increasing levels of racially defined poverty, unemployment and inequality. The article aimed to tease out how these ambiguities have inhibited and circumscribed South Africa's ambitions as a middle power.