South African Foreign Policy and the UN Security Council: Assessing its Impact on the African Peace and Security Architecture

The document examines how South Africa used its tenure on the UN Security Council to formalise institutional links between the UN and the African Union (AU), specifically through the application of Chapter VIII of the UN Charter. It argues that South Africa's efforts helped move the AU from a position of limited capacity to one of greater strategic co-operation, resulting in the creation of joint taskforces and improved coordination for peace support operations in Africa. The author suggests this 'hub and spoke' model of devolving security management to regional organisations offers a pragmatic alternative to the stalled process of formal UN Security Council reform.

• South Africa's primary objective during its UN Security Council (UNSC) tenures was to address the gap between the African Union's (AU) aspirations and its actual capacity to secure the political support and resources necessary for regional security crises.
• South Africa successfully revitalised the application of Chapter VIII of the UN Charter to promote a more enhanced role for regional organisations in managing security.
• During its first term, South Africa facilitated the adoption of UNSC Resolution 1809 (2008), which established an AU/UN panel to improve the financing, equipment, and logistics of AU peace support operations.
• South Africa's second term (2011–2012) further formalised these links through UNSC Resolution 2033 (2012), which reiterated the need for sustainable and flexible financial and logistical support for the AU.
• The institutional outcomes of these initiatives included the launch of an AU–UN joint taskforce on peace and security in September 2010, the opening of a UN Office to the AU in Addis Ababa, and the establishment of the AU’s Permanent Observer Mission to the UN in New York.
• The document argues that empowering regional organisations as security managers creates a 'hub and spoke' model that effectively devolves decision-making authority, bypassing the paralysis of formal UNSC reform regarding permanent membership and the veto.
• Despite these achievements, the author notes that cooperation between the UNSC and regional bodies often remains improvisational and ad hoc, with Western permanent members of the UNSC frequently resisting the AU's requirements for sustained financial support.

APA

Alden, C. (2015). South African Foreign Policy and the UN Security Council: Assessing its Impact on the African Peace and Security Architecture. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Policy-Insights-20.pdf

Chicago

Alden, Chris. South African Foreign Policy and the UN Security Council: Assessing its Impact on the African Peace and Security Architecture. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Policy-Insights-20.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alden |first1=Chris |title=South African Foreign Policy and the UN Security Council: Assessing its Impact on the African Peace and Security Architecture |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=20 June 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Policy-Insights-20.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alden2015south, author = {Alden, Chris}, title = {{South African Foreign Policy and the UN Security Council: Assessing its Impact on the African Peace and Security Architecture}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Policy-Insights-20.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }