ABSTRACT
During the apartheid era, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (BLS) were described as ‘captive states’ within southern Africa (Ajulu and Cammack, 1986; Anglin, 1988; Black et al., 1988. This term was used because of the three states’ subordinate relationship with the regional giant, South Africa (Belfiglio, 1980; Bodenmüller, 1973; Isaacs, 1982). This weakness was due to their land-locked geographical position (Anglin, 1972); their almost total economic dependence upon Pretoria (Sejanamane, 1990); and South Africa’s overpowering military muscle. For BLS, South Africa was truly the hegemon and thus BLS had to essentially tailor their foreign policies accordingly. Though BLS were not necessarily totally acquiescent to South Africa (see Boyd, 1976; and Sekgoma, 1990), the environment in which they operated and the general unwillingness to antagonise Pretoria limited Beijing’s manoeuvrability in the four countries.
