A comparison of South Africa's quiet diplomacy towards Nigeria and Zimbabwe
- Authors: Graham, Victoria
- Date: 2008-10-29T06:57:43Z
- Subjects: Diplomacy , South Africa foreign relations , Zimbabwe , Nigeria
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/366735 , uj:13570 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1370
- Description: M.A. , Diplomacy is the most widely used instrument of foreign policy. The changing international environment, brought about by the end of the Cold War and the increasingly popular doctrine of humanitarian intervention, has altered the nature of diplomacy. “Quiet diplomacy” has progressively become the bon mot of international relations. However, quiet diplomacy is a loose term that is bandied about in reference to many kinds of “soft” diplomatic approaches. This study is an attempt to provide some clarity on the conceptualisation of quiet diplomacy, through the comparative analysis of its use by two successive South African Presidents - Mandela and Mbeki - in two African crises. The study proposes a set of indicators of quiet diplomacy, namely: personal or direct diplomacy between heads of state or government or senior officials; little (or no) media involvement; the appearance of limited action or even inaction; calm and tactful but persistent negotiation or dialogue in a non-threatening atmosphere; constructive engagement with the target country in an effort to solve the problems as quietly as possible; and finally, diplomacy often carried out in the context of bilateral or multilateral efforts. These indicators are operationalised during the course of the study by applying them to Mandela’s use of these tactics in the Nigerian crisis in 1995 and then Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy towards the Zimbabwean government in 2000-2004. The new South Africa was instantly placed under enormous pressure to assume responsibility, both economically and politically, for the revitalisation of the African continent. In addition Mandela was regarded as a supreme symbol of peace and reconciliation and the international community looked to him to resolve Nigeria’s woes. Mbeki’s soft approach to Mugabe has been the target of international speculation and criticism, especially in light of Mbeki’s stated commitment to the African Renaissance and good governance in Africa. The successes and failures of South Africa’s quiet diplomacy in these two situations are discussed. Notable findings are Mandela’s shift from quiet to coercive diplomacy during the Nigerian crisis and the negative consequences of that decision. The implications of this undertaking are considerable because it was South Africa’s use of coercion and its subsequent failure in Nigeria that prompted Mbeki’s government to pursue only quiet diplomacy in Zimbabwe. , Mr. P.P. Fourie Prof. D.J. Geldenhuys
- Full Text:
- Authors: Graham, Victoria
- Date: 2008-10-29T06:57:43Z
- Subjects: Diplomacy , South Africa foreign relations , Zimbabwe , Nigeria
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/366735 , uj:13570 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1370
- Description: M.A. , Diplomacy is the most widely used instrument of foreign policy. The changing international environment, brought about by the end of the Cold War and the increasingly popular doctrine of humanitarian intervention, has altered the nature of diplomacy. “Quiet diplomacy” has progressively become the bon mot of international relations. However, quiet diplomacy is a loose term that is bandied about in reference to many kinds of “soft” diplomatic approaches. This study is an attempt to provide some clarity on the conceptualisation of quiet diplomacy, through the comparative analysis of its use by two successive South African Presidents - Mandela and Mbeki - in two African crises. The study proposes a set of indicators of quiet diplomacy, namely: personal or direct diplomacy between heads of state or government or senior officials; little (or no) media involvement; the appearance of limited action or even inaction; calm and tactful but persistent negotiation or dialogue in a non-threatening atmosphere; constructive engagement with the target country in an effort to solve the problems as quietly as possible; and finally, diplomacy often carried out in the context of bilateral or multilateral efforts. These indicators are operationalised during the course of the study by applying them to Mandela’s use of these tactics in the Nigerian crisis in 1995 and then Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy towards the Zimbabwean government in 2000-2004. The new South Africa was instantly placed under enormous pressure to assume responsibility, both economically and politically, for the revitalisation of the African continent. In addition Mandela was regarded as a supreme symbol of peace and reconciliation and the international community looked to him to resolve Nigeria’s woes. Mbeki’s soft approach to Mugabe has been the target of international speculation and criticism, especially in light of Mbeki’s stated commitment to the African Renaissance and good governance in Africa. The successes and failures of South Africa’s quiet diplomacy in these two situations are discussed. Notable findings are Mandela’s shift from quiet to coercive diplomacy during the Nigerian crisis and the negative consequences of that decision. The implications of this undertaking are considerable because it was South Africa’s use of coercion and its subsequent failure in Nigeria that prompted Mbeki’s government to pursue only quiet diplomacy in Zimbabwe. , Mr. P.P. Fourie Prof. D.J. Geldenhuys
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Assessing the missing link within the concept of preventive diplomacy with reference to African conflicts
- Authors: Niyitunga, Eric B.
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Diplomacy , Conflict management - Africa , Africa - Foreign relations
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/218644 , uj:21800 , Citation: Niyitunga, E.B. 2016. Assessing the missing link within the concept of preventive diplomacy with reference to African conflicts. Journal for Contemporary History, 41(2):229-250. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/ 10.18820/24150509/ JCH41.v2.12 , ISSN: 0258-2422 , ISSN: 2415-0509
- Description: Abstract: The role of preventive diplomacy is to prevent the emergence of violent conflicts, to prevent on-going conflicts from spreading and to prevent the relapse of an already settled conflict. The purpose of this article is to critically assess the existing gaps within the concept of preventive diplomacy that render it less appropriate in preventing and managing African conflicts in the post-Cold War era. The article gives an overview of the historical development of preventive diplomacy, referred to as orthodox preventive diplomacy. It examines the existent missing link within the concept of orthodox preventive diplomacy, and explains why the concept was ineffective in resolving African conflicts and preventing their recurrence. In conclusion, it is asserted that, given the fact that both the character and the agents of conflicts changed from interstate to intrastate, a new preventive diplomacy is needed to successfully prevent deadly conflicts before they occur. A qualitative research method, with an exploratory approach, was adopted.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Niyitunga, Eric B.
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Diplomacy , Conflict management - Africa , Africa - Foreign relations
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/218644 , uj:21800 , Citation: Niyitunga, E.B. 2016. Assessing the missing link within the concept of preventive diplomacy with reference to African conflicts. Journal for Contemporary History, 41(2):229-250. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/ 10.18820/24150509/ JCH41.v2.12 , ISSN: 0258-2422 , ISSN: 2415-0509
- Description: Abstract: The role of preventive diplomacy is to prevent the emergence of violent conflicts, to prevent on-going conflicts from spreading and to prevent the relapse of an already settled conflict. The purpose of this article is to critically assess the existing gaps within the concept of preventive diplomacy that render it less appropriate in preventing and managing African conflicts in the post-Cold War era. The article gives an overview of the historical development of preventive diplomacy, referred to as orthodox preventive diplomacy. It examines the existent missing link within the concept of orthodox preventive diplomacy, and explains why the concept was ineffective in resolving African conflicts and preventing their recurrence. In conclusion, it is asserted that, given the fact that both the character and the agents of conflicts changed from interstate to intrastate, a new preventive diplomacy is needed to successfully prevent deadly conflicts before they occur. A qualitative research method, with an exploratory approach, was adopted.
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Paradiplomacy : a comparative analysis of the international relations of South Africa’s Gauteng, North West and Western Cape provinces
- Authors: Nganje, Fritz Ikome
- Date: 2013-11-20
- Subjects: International relations , Provincial governments - South Africa , Subnational governments - Foreign relations - South Africa , Diplomacy
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7754 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8644
- Description: D.Litt. et Phil. (Politics) , South Africa’s 1996 Constitution makes provision for relatively autonomous provincial administrations, which share responsibility with the national government for important functional areas while also exercising exclusive authority over others. Although the Constitution is not explicit on the distribution of foreign policy competence, the dominant interpretation among South African policy-makers is that this functional area is the exclusive domain of the national government. Consequently, the foreign policy-making process in the country has over the years been dominated by the national executive. Even so, since 1995 the interplay of a set of push and pull factors has encouraged all provinces to assume an active and direct international role, to the extent that provincial international relations or paradiplomacy has become an important feature of South Africa’s international relations. This study examines the paradiplomacy of the South African provinces of Gauteng, the North West and the Western Cape against the backdrop of a relatively weak scholarly and public discourse of the phenomenon in the country. Through an in-depth and empirically based analysis of the three case studies, the inquiry generates insight into the nature and meaning of paradiplomacy in South Africa, as a contribution to the development of alternative accounts of a phenomenon whose scholarship is still heavily dominated by Western perspectives. The study finds that paradiplomacy has evolved in South Africa as a predominantly functional project, which has little significance for the authority of the national government over the country’s foreign policy and international relations. The provincial governments in Gauteng, the North West and the Western Cape engage in international relations primarily as a strategy to harness the opportunities of globalisation and economic interdependence, in the interest of the socio-economic development of their respective jurisdictions. This ‘developmental paradiplomacy’ is conditioned to a large extent by the limited provincial powers on foreign affairs, strong centripetal forces in South Africa’s political system, as well as the pervasive influence of the post-apartheid discourse on socio-economic transformation. Thus, although all three provinces examined conduct their international relations with relative autonomy and in ways that have at times undermined the country’s international reputation and attracted Pretoria’s ire, these activities are consciously defined within the framework of the country’s foreign policy and, in some cases, are executed in close collaboration with the national government. In a sense, therefore, provinces conceive of their international role as that of agents or champions of Pretoria’s foreign policy agenda. The key findings of this study, especially as they pertain to the nature and significance of paradiplomacy in South Africa, highlight the North-South geopolitical cleavage in the manifestation of the phenomenon. On the one hand, the South African case resonates with the experience in other developing countries like India, China, Malaysia and Argentina, where paradiplomacy evolves under the shadow of national foreign policy processes. On the other hand, the findings contrast with the experience in most countries in Europe and North America where questions of nationalism, sub-national identity and the sovereign authority for international representation have contributed to defining the international agency of sub-national governments.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Nganje, Fritz Ikome
- Date: 2013-11-20
- Subjects: International relations , Provincial governments - South Africa , Subnational governments - Foreign relations - South Africa , Diplomacy
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7754 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8644
- Description: D.Litt. et Phil. (Politics) , South Africa’s 1996 Constitution makes provision for relatively autonomous provincial administrations, which share responsibility with the national government for important functional areas while also exercising exclusive authority over others. Although the Constitution is not explicit on the distribution of foreign policy competence, the dominant interpretation among South African policy-makers is that this functional area is the exclusive domain of the national government. Consequently, the foreign policy-making process in the country has over the years been dominated by the national executive. Even so, since 1995 the interplay of a set of push and pull factors has encouraged all provinces to assume an active and direct international role, to the extent that provincial international relations or paradiplomacy has become an important feature of South Africa’s international relations. This study examines the paradiplomacy of the South African provinces of Gauteng, the North West and the Western Cape against the backdrop of a relatively weak scholarly and public discourse of the phenomenon in the country. Through an in-depth and empirically based analysis of the three case studies, the inquiry generates insight into the nature and meaning of paradiplomacy in South Africa, as a contribution to the development of alternative accounts of a phenomenon whose scholarship is still heavily dominated by Western perspectives. The study finds that paradiplomacy has evolved in South Africa as a predominantly functional project, which has little significance for the authority of the national government over the country’s foreign policy and international relations. The provincial governments in Gauteng, the North West and the Western Cape engage in international relations primarily as a strategy to harness the opportunities of globalisation and economic interdependence, in the interest of the socio-economic development of their respective jurisdictions. This ‘developmental paradiplomacy’ is conditioned to a large extent by the limited provincial powers on foreign affairs, strong centripetal forces in South Africa’s political system, as well as the pervasive influence of the post-apartheid discourse on socio-economic transformation. Thus, although all three provinces examined conduct their international relations with relative autonomy and in ways that have at times undermined the country’s international reputation and attracted Pretoria’s ire, these activities are consciously defined within the framework of the country’s foreign policy and, in some cases, are executed in close collaboration with the national government. In a sense, therefore, provinces conceive of their international role as that of agents or champions of Pretoria’s foreign policy agenda. The key findings of this study, especially as they pertain to the nature and significance of paradiplomacy in South Africa, highlight the North-South geopolitical cleavage in the manifestation of the phenomenon. On the one hand, the South African case resonates with the experience in other developing countries like India, China, Malaysia and Argentina, where paradiplomacy evolves under the shadow of national foreign policy processes. On the other hand, the findings contrast with the experience in most countries in Europe and North America where questions of nationalism, sub-national identity and the sovereign authority for international representation have contributed to defining the international agency of sub-national governments.
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Public lecture: What is the state of the Nation?
- Authors: Modise, Theodorah
- Date: 2015-04-13
- Subjects: Prof Chris Landsberg , David Maimela , Somadoda Fikeni , Aubrey Matshiqi , Diplomacy , Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection , Foreign Policy
- Type: Presentation
- Identifier: uj:1151 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13632
- Description: The Citizen Newspaper in partnership with Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), SARCHI Chair: African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy and the UJ Library invites you to a public lecture on What is the state of the Nation?
- Full Text:
- Authors: Modise, Theodorah
- Date: 2015-04-13
- Subjects: Prof Chris Landsberg , David Maimela , Somadoda Fikeni , Aubrey Matshiqi , Diplomacy , Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection , Foreign Policy
- Type: Presentation
- Identifier: uj:1151 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13632
- Description: The Citizen Newspaper in partnership with Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), SARCHI Chair: African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy and the UJ Library invites you to a public lecture on What is the state of the Nation?
- Full Text:
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