Mandela or Mbeki: which philosophy will Zuma follow?
May 19, 2009
By Zoleka Ndayi
President Jacob Zuma's inaugural speech did not give a clear indication as to the nature of South Africa's foreign policy under the new government.
Zuma's predecessors, Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, have been widely criticised for trying to fuel disunity in Africa or for promoting Africanism and "selfish" national interests at the expense of human rights, respectively.
In his speech, Zuma acknowledged Mbeki's remarkable contribution towards democratic consolidation in the country, and his policies on economic growth. He praised Mbeki for his efforts to make South Africa part of the African renaissance and the multilateral system.
Though Zuma assured the nation that there would be continuity with the Mandela and Mbeki legacies, it remains to be seen how he is going to reconcile the promotion of human rights with the need to strengthen African unity.
South Africa's foreign policy under Mandela was mainly defined by observation and promotion of human rights.
There are strong expectations that Zuma will take a strong stance on human rights violations in Zimbabwe. However, it will be important to tread carefully, since after taking that standpoint, South Africa was accused of being a "white state with a black president". Besides, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has the potential to be a dividing factor in the quest for African unity.
One can recall how Mandela clashed with Mugabe over the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1996. When Mandela tried to push for peaceful negotiations in a civil conflict, Mugabe, with Angola and Namibia, sent troops to support president Laurent Kabila against his rivals - Mandela's attempts failed.
The greatest challenge for human rights in South Africa's foreign policy came when Mandela decided to withdraw the country's representative from Nigeria in protest against the military execution in 1995 of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa by Nigeria's then president, General Sani Abacha. This stance was widely criticised by African leaders and civil society.
Mandela's South Africa won respect from the West for emphasising international human rights. But domestically, the ANC believed it should act in the interest of Africa, to advance its acceptability as a continental leader. Consequently, Mbeki's regime adopted an Africanist-nationalist foreign policy.
Mbeki adopted quiet diplomacy in Zimbabwe, a move that has been widely criticised. He believed African problems needed African solutions; hence, he blocked the UN Security Council's attempts to impose multilateral sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Mbeki's defence of Zimbabwe could be interpreted as a turning point in South African foreign policy - from Mandela's prioritisation of human rights to Mbeki's Africanist and pragmatic attitude.
In March 2005 Zuma, then Mbeki's deputy, entertained Yang Hyong Sop, the deputy president of Marxist totalitarian North Korea. Zuma thanked him for his country's contribution to the liberation struggle in South Africa, and called for stronger ties between the two states.
Last August President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt visited South Africa. Egypt's human rights record is one of the worst in the world.
But in light of the economic deals the countries were expected to sign and Egypt's offer to provide South Africa with much-needed human resource capital, Mbeki could not afford to sacrifice urgent economic interests by criticising Mubarak on human rights violations.
In March this year, the South African government under President Kgalema Motlanthe refused the Dalai Lama - Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual leader, exiled by the Chinese 50 years ago - a visa to attend a peace conference. One of the reasons was that his presence would shift focus to the Tibetan troubles with China and that the country has gained much in its trading relations with the country.
What is in store for Zuma? The president's inaugural speech was thin on foreign policy and strong on issues of domestic interest. Will he devise a South African national interest that seeks to reconcile human rights with African nationalism?
During the tenures of both of Zuma's predecessors, the ANC's values and interests were not always shared by other international actors, and even at home there were differences of values and priority over foreign affairs.
Zoleka Ndayi is a lecturer in the international relations department at Wits University
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