Positioning South Africa in 21st Century Global Nuclear Security Debates

The document examines South Africa's strategic positioning in global nuclear security amidst domestic economic decline and budget cuts to its foreign affairs and defence sectors. It highlights the risks posed by nuclear tensions in Iran and the Korean Peninsula, and suggests that South Africa can maintain its global relevance through 'niche diplomacy' and strategic partnerships. The author recommends using the 2020 NPT Review Conference and AU chairmanship to build a unified African position on nuclear disarmament and exploring informal 'Friends of the Chair' diplomatic models to bypass political impasses.

• South Africa's ability to conduct foreign policy and peacekeeping is being severely hampered by a declining domestic economy and budget cuts to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the defence budget. This has led to the closure of non-essential missions and reduced capacity for humanitarian responses in Mozambique and peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• The document identifies three primary global nuclear security threats: tensions on the Korean Peninsula, instability in Iran following the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the territorial dispute between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in Kashmir.
• South Africa has established itself as a 'global norm entrepreneur' in nuclear diplomacy through its voluntary denuclearisation in the 1990s, its role in the 1996 Pelindaba Treaty, and its advocacy for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
• The author suggests that South Africa should adopt a more strategic, cost-effective approach to nuclear security by utilizing informal 'Friends of the Chair' groups and Arria-Formula Meetings at the UNSC to find solutions for the Iranian and Korean crises.
• There is a strategic opportunity for South Africa in 2020 to coordinate a unanimous African position on nuclear disarmament and the Pelindaba Treaty, utilizing its concurrent roles as AU chair and member of the UNSC.
• The document notes that nuclear-weapons states often reject the humanitarian approach to disarmament, which calls for a legal framework to eliminate nuclear weapons, creating a challenge for non-nuclear states like South Africa.

APA

LALBAHADUR, A. (2020). Positioning South Africa in 21st Century Global Nuclear Security Debates. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Policy-Insights-80-lalbahadur.pdf

Chicago

LALBAHADUR, ADITI. Positioning South Africa in 21st Century Global Nuclear Security Debates. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2020. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Policy-Insights-80-lalbahadur.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=LALBAHADUR |first1=ADITI |title=Positioning South Africa in 21st Century Global Nuclear Security Debates |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Policy-Insights-80-lalbahadur.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lalbahadur2020positioning, author = {LALBAHADUR, ADITI}, title = {{Positioning South Africa in 21st Century Global Nuclear Security Debates}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Policy-Insights-80-lalbahadur.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }