The ANC Is Keeping a Tight Grip on South Africa’s Foreign Policy

Following nan steep diminution of nan African National Congress, aliases ANC, successful South Africa’s nationalist elections successful May and nan statement of a coalition government of nationalist unity successful its aftermath, each argumentation areas person now go contested terrain successful Pretoria, astatine slightest successful theory. In dominating nan statement strategy that prevailed from 1994 to 2024, nan ANC did not connect overmuch weight to nan views of guidance parties. Debates complete argumentation were conducted exclusively wrong nan wide conjugation that was nan ANC. That era ended successful May erstwhile nan ANC’s ballot stock fell to nan historical debased of 40 percent, ushering successful a caller property of conjugation authorities for South Africa.

How nan struggle to find argumentation wrong nan existent authorities unfolds will move connected nan narration betwixt nan ANC and nan Democratic Alliance, DA, nan country’s long-standing center-right guidance statement that vanished successful 2nd spot successful May pinch 22 percent of nan vote. With their mixed stock of nan vote, nan erstwhile bitter enemies now predominate nan caller power-sharing government. So far, their argumentation differences person mostly focused connected home issues specified arsenic acquisition and wellness policy, but nan responsibility lines betwixt nan ANC and DA connected overseas argumentation are becoming much visible.

The ANC’s overseas argumentation trajectory since erstwhile President Nelson Mandela near agency successful 1999—whether nether erstwhile Presidents Thabo Mbeki from 1999 to 2008 and Jacob Zuma from 2009 to 2018, aliases President Cyril Ramaphosa from 2018 to now—has had 3 unique features. First, solidarity pinch African countries and, much broadly, those of nan Global South, pinch a committedness to nan democratization of nan institutions of world governance taking precedence complete immoderate support for nan soul democratization of states. Pretoria’s muted responses to nan proliferation of coups successful Africa since 2020 and to nan malpractice accompanying galore African elections are schematic examples. Second, a committedness to non-interference successful nan soul affairs of states replaced Mandela’s position that sovereignty should not beryllium utilized arsenic a shield to deflect disapproval of a state’s quality authorities violations. Third, nan promotion of multilateralism arsenic nan way to a much equitable world bid and person alignment pinch states seeking nan aforesaid goals, whether successful nan Southern African Development Community, nan African Union aliases nan expanded BRICS forum. Underpinning each of those objectives has been a hostility toward nan West successful wide and U.S. hegemony successful particular.