WHERE WILL PRETORIA GO AS A BRIC-FORUM MEMBER?
In its early years of transition from apartheid and in South Africa’s integration into the global system, South Africa was always known as a country that punches above its weight in global affairs. Soon after its first democratic elections, the country appropriated an image as a regional leader in the African continent. In multilateral settings, South Africa is no doubt the most respected country in Africa – and certainly the best known partner for multilateral initiatives among its African peers. The country’s GDP dwarfs that of its peers at US$280bn. The second largest economy in Africa is Egypt at US$188bn GDP. South Africa is the economic powerhouse on the continent. But what exactly are South Africa’s objectives in the global system, and how to properly define its identity?
Since its formal break with apartheid in 1994, the country has been constantly defining its identity and place in the world. Its debut as a recognized state post-1994 was marked by an active foreign policy agenda that included various leadership roles in various regional institutions. The country also played a central role in defining ideas about Africa’s economic development.
The formulation of the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), credited to President Thabo Mbeki leadership, was the clearest expression of South Africa’s urge to play a leadership role in its region. Beyond the African region, South Africa has been very active in the multilateral trade negotiations, emerging as one of the countries that were instrumental in championing the launch of the Doha Round, and in asserting the need for stronger development content in the negotiations.
It was also the only African country to participate in the G8 and OECD related interactions with emerging powers including Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia. And it is currently the only African country that is a member of the G20, and chairs the International Monetary Fund’s Development Working Group. This ubiquity in external engagement does not tell us much about what the country’s strategic objectives are, and how it defines its identity.
Without a doubt, South Africa is sensitive about how it is perceived by the external world, in particular the advanced industrial economies (largely the G7) and the other emerging powers.
But the lack of coherence in its own foreign policy reflects the country’s own internal struggles since apartheid. As a pluralistic society fractured along race, ethnic and socioeconomic lines, its many voices are both a source of pride and political weakness on the global stage. True, South Africa has taught other countries much about how to reconcile disparate interests, but that in and of itself has not helped to form the coherent identity it needs as a global actor.
South Africa is also caught between its location in Africa and its yearning for recognition by the Western world and newly emergent powers. Many South Africans distance themselves from Africa and rather imagine a more global identity for their country as a bridge between the global north and the global south. South Africa’s political elite was excited, for instance, to receive China’s invitation to participate in the ‘BRIC Forum’ alongside Brazil, Russia, India and China.
In their excitement, however, South African policy makers may be exaggerating the importance of outmoded designations like “North” and “South” in a global system that is throwing off all its old labels. South Africa thus needs to be careful not to throw all its eggs in the BRIC Forum basket. As a BRIC-Forum member, it needs to advocate for stronger bridges between countries we once considered in the “South” and the traditional North but not fostering walls of false difference along North and South. It could do this by encouraging deeper links between the G8 and the BRIC.
Such engagements could give South Africa more weight in addressing some of the most complex problems facing an emerging global system: Climate change, multilateral trade negotiations, global economic imbalances, and economic development. South Africa could even explore membership in the OECD – a useful community in which to enhance its own economic competitiveness.
Of course, South Africa must also embrace its leadership role in Africa itself, by cultivating deeper trade and investment relationships with African partners and by providing direction on Africa’s economic development. A distinct economic role in the African continent could earn the country’s foreign policy more weight.
South Africa has indeed contributed enormously to issues of peace and security in the continent – but needs to be a lot bolder and confident in providing leadership. To do this effectively it will need to build more capacities at two levels. First, South Africa needs to be able to manage structural change in its economy, especially to achieve socially-inclusive growth and optimize its competitiveness. Failure to do so will constantly undermine South Africa’s place in the world. Second, South Africa needs to improve the quality of its foreign policy practitioners to match the kind of ambition it is setting for itself in the world. This improvement should be in the direction of developing greater finesse in contemporary diplomacy, particularly commercial diplomacy.
By Dr Mzukisi Qobo
Research Associate
Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria
