Abstract
South Africa is an emerging power with fairly strong democratic institutions that were crafted during the
transition from minority to majority rule twenty years ago. How has South Africa used its position and power to promote
democracy in Africa? Against the backdrop of debates on democracy promotion by emerging powers, this article probes
attempts by successive post-apartheid governments to promote democracy in Africa. We argue that although democracy
promotion featured prominently in South Africa’s policy toward Africa in the immediate post-apartheid period under Nelson
Mandela, the administrations of Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma faltered in advancing democratic norms. This is largely
because South Africa has confronted pressures to maximize pragmatic national interests, which have compromised a
democratic ethos in a continental environment where these values have yet to find steady footing.