South Africa after the Central African Republic: Saving the African Agenda

This research paper analyzes the impact of the death of 13 South African soldiers in the Central African Republic (CAR) on March 23, 2013, arguing that the incident exposed failures in democratic transparency and institutional accountability within South Africa's foreign policy. The author suggests that to preserve its 'African agenda,' South Africa must move away from Cold War-era anti-imperialist prisms, improve intelligence partnerships with traditional powers, and proactively domesticate its foreign policy through democratic scrutiny.

• The death of 13 South African soldiers on March 23, 2013, during a battle between Damara and Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR) created a crisis of public confidence. The deployment was based on a bilateral agreement rather than a multilateral framework under the UN or AU, leading to public questioning of the national interest and the purpose of the mission.
• The engagement in CAR created two negative feedback loops: internally, it raised doubts about the government's ability to align foreign policy with urgent domestic priorities; externally, the manner in which the presence ended threatened South Africa's prestige and its peace operations across Africa.
• The author argues that South Africa's foreign policy is hindered by an 'anti-imperialist prism of the Cold War' that prevents it from utilizing the knowledge of traditional powers. To better navigate African security challenges, South Africa should build intelligence networks with the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and France.
• The CAR incident revealed a 'shocking failure' in democratic transparency and institutional accountability. The author contends that foreign policy decision-making is not sufficiently localized, and recommends the 'proactive domestication of the African agenda' through democratic accountability to ensure the national interest is understood and scrutinized.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2013). South Africa after the Central African Republic: Saving the African Agenda. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-after-the-central-african-republic-saving-the-african-agenda/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. South Africa after the Central African Republic: Saving the African Agenda. 2013. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-after-the-central-african-republic-saving-the-african-agenda/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=South Africa after the Central African Republic: Saving the African Agenda |date=22 April 2013 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-after-the-central-african-republic-saving-the-african-agenda/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2013south, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{South Africa after the Central African Republic: Saving the African Agenda}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-after-the-central-african-republic-saving-the-african-agenda/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }