Toward a National Strategy and Development Council: The Foreign Policy Dimension

This policy brief proposes the creation of a legislated National Strategy and Development Council (NSDC) within the South African presidency to centralize national strategy and ensure institutional continuity across different administrations. It specifically advocates for restructuring the International Relations Trade and Security (IRTS) cabinet cluster into a directorate and establishing an independent, non-governmental Council on International Relations and Cooperation (CIRC) to provide expert advice and research.

• The author proposes the establishment of a National Strategy and Development Council (NSDC) located in the presidency to serve as a "strong executive apparatus at the presidential centre of governance." This body would set overall national strategy and transform existing government clusters into directorates with multiparty advisory boards to improve the dissemination and implementation of strategic vision across all departments.
• The International Relations Trade and Security (IRTS) cabinet cluster should be restructured as a directorate under the NSDC. This change is intended to reduce the "autonomous and uncoordinated decision-making of ministers," prevent policy from being subject to the "legacy-whims of individuals," and enable cross-departmental thinking and a more strategic approach to both domestic and foreign policy.
• To ensure that the NSDC and the presidency's policy apparatus are not dismantled by successive administrations based on "parochial political whim," the author argues that the NSDC should be legislated by parliament and potentially "constitutionally entrenched."
• The brief advocates for the creation of a Council on International Relations and Cooperation (CIRC) as a successor to the defunct South African Council on International Relations (SACOIR). The CIRC should be an independent, non-governmental entity—potentially a statutory body operating as a public-private partnership—that provides "synergised information, advice and training" to IRTS departments.
• The proposed CIRC would function as a "think tank of think tanks" and could be augmented by companion councils in major metropolitan cities, specifically Johannesburg, eThekwini (Durban), and Cape Town, to create a more inclusive foreign policy constituency.
• The document identifies a historical lack of continuity in South African government organization across different presidencies, noting that power is often vested in the individual holding the dual role of president of the country and party president rather than in the presidency as an institution. This has led to departments functioning as "bureaucratic silos" and created gaps between policy aspirations and reality.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). Toward a National Strategy and Development Council: The Foreign Policy Dimension. https://saiia.org.za/research/toward-a-national-strategy-and-development-council-the-foreign-policy-dimension/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Toward a National Strategy and Development Council: The Foreign Policy Dimension. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/toward-a-national-strategy-and-development-council-the-foreign-policy-dimension/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Toward a National Strategy and Development Council: The Foreign Policy Dimension |date=2 October 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/toward-a-national-strategy-and-development-council-the-foreign-policy-dimension/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020toward, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Toward a National Strategy and Development Council: The Foreign Policy Dimension}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/toward-a-national-strategy-and-development-council-the-foreign-policy-dimension/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }