JCH 2016 Volume 41 Issue 1

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11660/3208

Browse

Browsing JCH 2016 Volume 41 Issue 1 by Subject "Africa"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Africa and the idea of international society
    (Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2016) Spies, Yolanda K.
    The shared interests and values of sovereign states prompt them to commit to common rules, conventions and institutions within an inter-subjective “society”, where diplomacy is used as main currency. The idea of international society is, however, not unequivocal. Diversification of the identities and interests of an enlarging pool of states – after the Second World War, mostly contributed by Africa – undermines consensus on the rules of engagement. This is aggravated by the history of the aggressive expansion of international society from its traditional European base. African states have generally embraced the traditional norms (such as sovereignty and non-intervention) of international society, but the continent’s particular history has informed its inclination to use collective diplomacy (multilateralism) to challenge the structure of a deeply asymmetrical international system. In the process, the parochial part of international society that Africa represents has managed to export certain norms to the “older” members of the society. Of special note is the continent’s insistence on horizontal, rather than vertical cooperative relationships, and the fact that development per se has become a fixture on the global diplomatic agenda. The architecture of contemporary universal international society is much more complex and nuanced than ever before, and the role of a sub-society such as Africa – not just in relating to international society, but also in shaping it – is the focus of this article.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    African solutions for African problems: quiet diplomacy and South Africa's diplomatic strategy towards Zimbabwe
    (Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2016) Landsberg, Chris
    Zimbabwe is not just a foreign policy issue for South Africa; it has become a domestic policy concern. Political, socio-economic and cultural issues have coalesced in a manner that have forced the Zimbabwe question onto the domestic agenda, and South Africa has opted to respond to the Zimbabwe challenge by way of the foreign policy strategy of “quiet diplomacy” as a form of “African solutions for African problems”. This policy was associated with South Africa’s former president, Thabo Mbeki, but contrary to popular perceptions, the Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma governments also supported this strategy, even though they claimed that they distanced themselves from it. Six years after Mbeki’s departure as head of state, and into the Jacob Zuma-led presidency, the claim that there was a fundamental break with the policy of quiet diplomacy by Zuma, and that his administration pursued a fundamentally different strategy to that of his predecessor, was far-fetched. This article considers the concept of quiet diplomacy, initially seen as a form of African containment, representing methods used to first try and stop conflicts from spiralling out of control; secondly by reversing the effects of conflicts; and thirdly by rolling back conflicts by means of peaceful settlements of disputes or peace settlements; after which a country could be stabilised politically, and socioeconomically. The analysis then traces Jacob Zuma’s approach towards Zimbabwe and how his new administration came to endorse and support the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA), which they inherited from the Mbeki government, despite the rhetoric calling for a different approach.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The challenges of diplomatic practice in Africa
    (Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2016) Akokpari, John
    Diplomacy has been used in the conduct of foreign policies in Africa. However, a disconcerting trend in the practice of diplomacy in Africa is the often limited successes, and sometimes failures, of states and regional organisations in achieving foreign policy objectives. Remarkably, such failures are not only typical of diplomacy targeting external actors, but are equally visible in intra-African diplomacy. By and large the diplomatic skills of Africa are tested mostly during periods of conflicts and threats to regional security. In most of these situations, diplomacy has proved to be ineffective in achieving desired outcomes. Consequently, most conflicts remain unresolved, while threats to good governance persist. The failures of diplomacy are largely due to a confluence of factors, including the quality of diplomacy and mediators, the pervasiveness of conflicts, Africa’s lack of international influence, its dependence on external actors and consequent lack of assertiveness, as well as Africa’s lack of courage to stand up to errant leaders whose actions threaten good governance and regional security.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The role of the BRIC in Africa's development: drivers and strategies
    (Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2016) Soko, Mills; Qobo, Mzukisi
    National interest still trumps friendship in international relations. The notions of solidarity that were popular among developing countries in the 1950s and the 1960s have no resonance in 21st century diplomacy, which is largely driven by commercial considerations. Many developing countries still view the advent of rising powers – some of whom were part of the Third World movement that arrayed itself to counter imperialism – as offering promise for development progress. Taking an analytic assessment of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries’ role in Africa’s development, this article argues that such hopes are misguided. BRIC countries are not primarily driven by Africa’s development concerns, but are seeking to fulfil their own commercial interests, as well as use Africa as an avenue for shoring up their international legitimacy and credibility. The article arrives at this conclusion by examining how each of the BRIC countries implements its commercial and diplomatic strategies on the African continent. South Africa is excluded from this analysis as the focus of the article is on how the non-African members of the BRICS formation pursue their diplomatic and commercial strategies on the African continent.