South Africa's Foreign Policy Objectives: Reviewing the White Paper

The author critiques the 2011 draft White Paper on South Africa's foreign policy, describing it as a "mechanical rehash" of previous policies that relies on clichés and platitudes. While the author welcomes the more inclusive consultation process and the proposal for a South African Council on International Relations, they note a lack of detail on implementation and a failure to address recent diplomatic challenges in Libya and Cote d’Ivoire.

• The draft White Paper, titled "Building a Better World: The Diplomacy of Ubuntu," is characterized as a repetitive document that fails to explain how its objectives will be achieved.
• The document proposes the creation of the South African Development Partnership Agency to centralize and track development assistance, which previously lacked a central record of costs and beneficiaries.
• The White Paper suggests establishing a South African Council on International Relations (SACOIR) to facilitate interaction with the Department on foreign policy, though the document provides no details on its constitution or operation.
• The author argues that the White Paper does not address South Africa's diplomatic difficulties in Libya and Cote d’Ivoire, nor does it deviate from the "care and maintenance" approach of the Mbeki presidency.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2011). South Africa's Foreign Policy Objectives: Reviewing the White Paper. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africas-foreign-policy-objectives-reviewing-the-white-paper/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. South Africa's Foreign Policy Objectives: Reviewing the White Paper. 2011. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africas-foreign-policy-objectives-reviewing-the-white-paper/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=South Africa's Foreign Policy Objectives: Reviewing the White Paper |date=31 August 2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africas-foreign-policy-objectives-reviewing-the-white-paper/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2011south, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{South Africa's Foreign Policy Objectives: Reviewing the White Paper}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africas-foreign-policy-objectives-reviewing-the-white-paper/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }