Coherence and Contrdictions in South Africa's Foreign Policy in Africa

Abstract

During Nelson Mandela's presidency between 1994 and 1999, foreign diplomats noted wryly and South African commentators complained loudly that Pretoria did not have a coherent foreign policy. There were several reasons for the ad hoc and often haphazard approach. The new government was preoccupied with the domestic imperatives of national reconciliation and the transformation of state departments; the Foreign Minister, Alfred Nzo, was sorely lacking in dynamism and vision; and the apartheid-era officials who still dominated the Department of Foreign Affairs were dazzled by the light of democracy and the high international expectations of South Africa.