Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores US and South African foreign policy makers were confronted with archaic African policies and the challenges associated with developing appropriate new ones, their efforts were complicated by changes in national leadership and government, bureaucratic biases, and resilient, inherited policies. It presents how US foreign policy makers in the Clinton administration formulated an African agenda stressing economics, democracy, and stability. The chapter explains US and South African foreign policies when an intense desire prevailed to increase trade and commercial links, and to integrate better Africa into global economy. At times modest means were imposed on US and South African policy makers and they were forced to devise new grand foreign policy aims. At other times, modest means were willingly employed and this too resulted in the articulation of new grand foreign policy aims as actions and ends were made to correspond.