ABSTRACT

The international isolation of the apartheid regime and the external context of the Cold War have been replaced by democracy in South Africa and a globalizing world. This chapter examines the processes, institutions and actors which govern and determine the manner in which foreign policy has been made in South Africa since 1994. As early as 1993, African National Congress (ANC) president Nelson Mandela articulated several principles which would underpin South Africa's future foreign policy. South Africa's domestic environment has been drastically altered since the formal demise of apartheid following the elections in April, 1994. South Africa's regional relations have also benefited from its transition. The international environment forces a difficult set of economic and political circumstances and choices on South Africa such that it faces the spectre of precipitous and inexorable decline in its position in the world economy. Traditionally, the most important persons involved in a country's foreign affairs are its head of government and the foreign minister.