Abstract
South Africa’s peace and security outlook in the EU-SA Strategic Partnership has been
guided by the content and substance of the founding document, which incorporates an
interdependent approach to development. For South Africa, engagement in the EU-SA
Strategic Partnership is framed by its historical background, its identity and the content
of its foreign policy. South Africa’s foreign policy in particular adopts an integrated
approach to securing the state within its surrounding regional and continental
geography. This article reviews South Africa’s approach to peace and security, in the
context of the strategic partnership. The article argues that, overall, South Africa’s
definition of peace and security is compatible with that of the EU, however, Pretoria’s
vision of how it provides peace and security has naturally changed in line with the
varying international circumstances in which it has found itself. While this has proved
difficult at times to reconcile peace and security collaboration in the strategic
partnership has managed to remain intact.