South Africa has always been a very visible and recognisable actor in the domain of international affairs. The country has received various international accolades and recognition for its role in shaping and influencing the global agenda on many fronts. During the apartheid period from 1948 to 1994, the government of that era had its own cosy relations with international partners that shared its hostile governance system that polarised the population among the racial and ethnic lines. The partners of the apartheid regime included Britain, western Germany, Italy, France and the United States of America.

However, relations with these countries have since been transformed taking into account the prevailing political changes and situation in the country. The political movements that are largely led and constituted by the majority Black population also built international partnerships and cooperation with countries that opposed racial segregation in the country. Closer to home it was countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, and others, far afield these included Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Noteworthy in the history of South Africa’s role as an international actor is the 1982 speech delivered to the United Nations General Assembly by the late President of the African National Congress (ANC), Mr Oliver Reginald Tambo, who articulated the foreign policy imperatives of his party. The ANC eventually became a national governing party for thirty uninterrupted years from 1994 to 2024. However, 2024 proved to be a turning point in the three decades of national political dominance of the ANC. This development is what necessitated the reflection in this article. Before getting into the professed policy positions of the Government of National Unity (GNU) formed on 30 June 2024, it is important to contextualise this discussion by reflecting on the key principles that underpinned the country’s foreign policy in the past thirty years.

Building on the 1982 address to the United Nations General Assembly by Tambo, in which he underscored that the government that was to be inaugurated in 1994 would prioritise an international agenda that would oppose racism and apartheid wherever these are manifested, would promote democracy and freedom of people from oppression, would promote peaceful resolution of political conflicts, promote peace and stability, as well as deepening international cooperation and partnerships. When the ANC took over political power in 1994, the government accelerated the political transformation agenda by negotiating the country's new constitution which was finalised and signed into law on 21 March 1996.

The 1996 Constitution became the bedrock of future government laws, regulations, strategies, and policies. It was from the provision of this constitution that foreign policy values and principles were explicitly elucidated and codified. These include high political premium placed on democracy, equality, freedom, reconciliation, diversity, responsibility, and respect.

In relation to foreign policy principles, the following have underpinned South Africa’s international engagements since 1994: promotion of human rights informed and influenced by the political history of oppression in the country; promotion of democracy, particularly political rights that were deprived to the majority of the population; commitment to justice and international law, this founded on the ideological leaning that states cooperate better when they share common values and principles treating each other as equals in the conduct of international affairs; peace and stability as sin quo non for development; promoting African interests and Africa's role in the global community of nations; and regional and continental integration premised on mutual cooperation and interdependence.

Over the past thirty years, South Africa conducted her foreign policy engagements anchored by the abovementioned values and principles. It should be added that the same values and principles also shaped other government policies that are formulated and implemented by various departments. A number of important developments were achieved in the past three decades which include readmission of the country to the United Nations system following the suspension necessitated by the 1974 Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly.

Some relations that were at party-political level with the countries that supported the struggle against apartheid were elevated to full diplomatic status with representation at the level of Ambassadors and High Commissioners. New relations were built with other countries, especially the developing countries under the formations of the Non-Aligned Movement, Group of 77 plus China, Group of 20 industrialised countries, and a plethora of other international organisations outside these big formations including smaller groupings such as India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) and the Brazil, India, China, Russian, South Africa plus (BRICS) formation.

South Africa also contributed to the transformation of existing international organisations starting from the region contributing to the reconfiguration of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The latter’s historical mandate focused on peace and security matters to which, paradoxically, Apartheid South Africa was a dominant power and architect of instability at the centre of it all. With the dawn of democracy in South Africa, the regional organisation’s strategic focus was expanded to also include and embrace international developments—particularly trade, commercial, and investment cooperation.

Also at the continental level, South Africa was among the countries that championed the transformation of the Organisation of African Unity and even hosted on 12 July 2002, the Summit that marked the transition of the organisation to the current African Union. The country played a critical leadership role in the development of policies, frameworks, and guidelines on a host of continental developmental issues including the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the Peer Review Mechanism, and the 2063 African Agenda, to mention just a few among many examples.

As the landmark general elections were held on 29 May 2024, South Africa remained committed to the foreign policy ideals espoused by the first democratic administration led by late President Nelson Mandela. The outcome of the May 2024 election was predicted but not believed until the final results were announced by the Electoral Commission declaring that the ANC obtained only 40.18% of valid national votes amounting to a figure of 12 697 960 from the national and regional ballot papers. Owing to the outcomes of the 2024 general elections, on 30 June 2024, South Africa formed the seventh democratic administration under the rubric of the Government of National Unity (GNU) made up of nine political parties. Addressing the nation on 18 July coinciding with the International Nelson Mandela Day, the President of the Republic outlined three strategic priorities of the GNU, namely, inclusive growth and job creation, reduction of poverty and the high cost of living, and the building of a capable, ethical, and developmental state.

Scholars, observers, and practitioners eagerly awaited the pronouncement of the seventh administration government priorities—especially changes and continuities. As the President of the Republic appointed his cabinet from the nine GNU political parties, certain portfolios were maintained under the leadership of the former ruling party, the ANC, including the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation. To some foreign policy practitioners and scholars, this signalled both continuity and change. However, it must be stated that only those who fully comprehend the nuances of foreign policy argued that there would be “change in continuity”. The reason for this is because other ministries that play influential and key role in both the formulation and implementation of foreign policy were allocated to new ministers from former opposition parties such as the Democratic Alliance.

Foreign policy, as is the case with all public policies, is a constant battle ground for contestation of ideas about what is best for and is in the interest of the state. The formulation and implementation of foreign policy has always been fragmented throughout various national governments necessitated by competencies and expertise required to promote the country’s national interests on highly technical issues such as climate change, multilateral trade, migration, defence, etc. These expertise and competencies are not necessarily available within the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, and constitutionally, are a competency of other national departments.

The South African Government operates through national governance structures called clusters. For international relations, the cluster includes ministries such as Home Affairs, Trade and Industry, Tourism, Defence, State Security, Finance, Environment, and Telecommunications. Some of these key ministries have ministers from the ANC and deputy ministers from other political parties, and vice versa. The implications of this political balancing act is that, as much as the GNU will maintain some of the principles and perhaps policies from the previous administration, some will be subjected to amendments and/or complete overhaul. All the parties in the GNU, without any shadow of doubt, have to lobby and ensure inclusion of their political mandates and election promises, failing which they risk losing their support and constituencies come the next general elections in 2029.

The foreign policy orientation of the GNU was articulated by the new Minister on 11 July 2024, in Parliament, when he tabled his Budget Vote Speech and further echoed by the President of the Republic on 18 July 2024. The Minister referenced the base document for the formation of the GNU which in clause 11.9 states that the seventh administration will pursue a foreign policy based on human rights; constitutionalism; pursuit of national interests; solidarity; peaceful resolution of conflicts; to achieve the African Agenda 2063; South-South, North-South, and African cooperation; multilateralism; and a just (and inclusive), peaceful, and equitable world.

In essence these are the same principles that have been guiding the foreign policy of the past six administrations. Perhaps agreeing on principles is one thing, but advancing that agreement in action is quite another. It remains to be seen what is going to happen going forward in the GNU. Historically, these grand principles, though they are apparently shared by the GNU parties, their application or lack of consistency in the past was a cause for serious political divisions between them. For instance, on the question of the Israeli-Palestine conflict, the ANC and the Democratic Alliance stand on opposite sides, each supporting one and condemning the other party to the conflict.

On the question of continental peace and stability, the ANC Government has been sharply criticised by some of these parties on its approach to conflicts in the region, including the situation in Zimbabwe. The previous administrations have been accused on various occasions of attaching disproportionate significance to political solidary and fraternal relations with former liberation movements than promoting the protection of human rights. The ANC Government was also heavily attacked on its failure to arrest the Sudanese former President Omar al-Bashir in 2015 who was accused of committing crimes against humanity and was indicted by the International Criminal Court, to which South Africa is a signatory to its founding statutes.

It can therefore be argued that with the benefit of hindsight, the foreign policy orientation articulated by the GNU Minister of International Relations and Cooperation is not necessarily a guarantee that the parties that form the government will agree and share common interpretation and application of the stated principles. There is likely to be fierce contestations on the interpretation and application of the foreign policy principles as the political parties to the GNU represent the people of South Africa in general but also their constituencies in particular. It is also likely that even when government decisions and positions are crafted in the national governance structures, different ideological beliefs will be manifested and communicated by the parties in order to appease their constituencies and guarantee them that they are not selling them out in the GNU arrangement.

On 11 July 2024, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation outlined the foreign policy priorities to include commitment to the realisation of the aspirations of the African Agenda 2063; intensification of economic relations in relation to trade and investment cooperation; promotion and consolidation of peace and political stability in the region and the continent; and strengthening of multilateral cooperation and continued involvement and active participation in the global system of governance which seeks to address, among other things, challenges posed by climate change, negative effects of artificial intelligence, illegal migration, etc.

The critical force that will help the GNU to effectively deal with and manage these issues would be inter alia—the agency or lack thereof of the foreign policy political leaders, particularly the President and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation. However, these leaders on their own will not be able to either decide nor determine the cause and direction of the GNU foreign policy without taking cognisance of other important determinants of this public policy such as developments in the international organisations the country enjoys membership of, interests of both domestic and international stakeholders such as bilateral partners, foreign investors in the country, etc.

In essence, the Presidency and the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation have no unbridled monopoly on foreign policy formulation and implementation—there are other actors, factors, and interests that ought to be considered. There will be both continuity and change in how the foreign policy is implemented and interpreted by the various actors and forces that influence it.