South Africa’s Foreign Policy: Tempering Dominance Through Integration

The document analyzes how South Africa's economic and political dominance affects its relations with Southern African neighbors. It highlights a 'forked approach' where South Africa employs quiet diplomacy in political matters but is perceived as assertive and mercantilist in economic engagements. While its peacekeeping efforts are praised, the paper notes a gap between the region's expectations of South African leadership and the actual funding and capacity constraints of the South African National Defence Force.

• South Africa employs a bifurcated foreign policy strategy, characterized by a subdued, consensus-driven approach to political and military issues and a more aggressive, assertive stance in economic dealings within the Southern African region.
• There is a significant perception among Southern African neighbors that South Africa behaves as a 'big brother,' often acting unilaterally or failing to consult peers, as evidenced by the perceived 'strong-arming' during the 2012 candidacy of Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for AU Chairperson.
• South Africa's economic dominance is stark, with an economy nearly 40 times larger than the average sub-Saharan economy, leading to perceptions of mercantilism and protectionism in negotiations for the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA).
• Within the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), South Africa maintains a trade surplus of $9 billion relative to Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and Swaziland, and is seeking to renegotiate revenue-sharing terms to include a greater developmental component.
• While regional practitioners view South Africa's peacekeeping and military capabilities as 'impressive,' there is a disconnect with the reality that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is underfunded by 24% and faces serious capacity constraints.
• South Africa's credibility as a representative of Africa is contested due to internal issues such as corruption and the perceived lack of consultation regarding UN Security Council Resolution 1973 on Libya.

APA

Labhadur, A. (2015). South Africa’s Foreign Policy: Tempering Dominance Through Integration. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Occasional-Paper-213.pdf

Chicago

Labhadur, Aditi. South Africa’s Foreign Policy: Tempering Dominance Through Integration. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Occasional-Paper-213.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Labhadur |first1=Aditi |title=South Africa’s Foreign Policy: Tempering Dominance Through Integration |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Occasional-Paper-213.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{labhadur2015south, author = {Labhadur, Aditi}, title = {{South Africa’s Foreign Policy: Tempering Dominance Through Integration}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Occasional-Paper-213.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }