ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys the content of Swaziland's foreign policy and external relations from the period of independence to the present. It focuses on the contexts within which foreign policies and external relationships are made and looks at the various actors whose activities impinge on the policy-formulation and implementation process. The chapter suggests that civil organizations such as the trade unions sometimes set the agenda for external engagement or foreign affairs, a case in point being the issue of the Kingdom's Industrial Relations Bill. It attempts to demonstrate that the decision-making process in Swaziland shares some resemblance to the bureaucratic process models of decision-making as postulated by Allison. Economic and ideological factors have always played a major role in shaping the Kingdom of Swaziland's relations with the outside world. Domestic conditions greatly shape a nation's external relations, and so it was in the case of Swaziland. Ideology, undoubtedly, played an important role in shaping the foreign policy position of Swaziland.
