Abstract
In 2022 the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation
(DIRCO) released the National Interest Framework, formally setting out what
South Africa’s national interest is. According to DIRCO this aimed at providing
an understanding of, and predictability in South Africa’s international relations.
As the latest document in guiding foreign policy the framework reflects a
continuation in the rhetoric of foreign policy principles; yet for all its effort in
identifying the country’s foreign policy priorities, questions remain concerning
the interests it reflects. Indeed, although there has been centralisation of
decision-making, this has not translated into presenting a singular foreign
policy or national interest position. Rather, South Africa’s national interest
reflects a negotiated outcome of different positions among the political elites
in government and the ruling party (African National Congress). Using Wight’s
national interest taxonomy, the article highlights the presence of multiple
positions evident in South Africa’s national interest framework before considering
what the implications are for the implementation of foreign policy. This draws
on a critical review of foreign policy documents, supported by semi-structured
interviews with practitioners, academics, think tanks, and NGOs. The article
argues that the national interest framework is not a reflection of one, but an
amalgamation of what Wight identifies as realist, revolutionist, and rationalist
doctrines. This has left the framework a broad document without specific aims
in achieving the national interest. It also goes some way towards accounting for
the limited application to date of the national interest framework in facilitating
an understanding of South Africa’s international relations.