ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that as Mozambique’s economy and political situation continued to decline over the years as a result of civil war and natural calamities, its foreign policy-makers increasingly became more pragmatic in a bid to end the economic and political crisis. The foreign policies of contemporary African states are currently being shaped by the rapidly changing international and domestic environments to the extent that it is becoming increasingly difficult to isolate purely 'foreign policies.’ Mozambique’s foreign policy position was that only a black majority-ruled South Africa could lead to long-term stability in the region. Mozambique’s first distinct act of foreign policy took place in March 1976, when it closed its border with Rhodesia. In Mozambique, the actual formulation of foreign policy rested within the elites, at the highest levels around the president. Mozambique’s foreign policy-making process is also influenced by regional external actors, namely South Africa and the South African Development Community.
