ABSTRACT
The inauguration of the Mandela government in 1994 greatly improved South Africa’s relationships with other African states, creating numerous opportunities for them to collaborate with one another. By reducing its continental role, South Africa is likely to antagonise states and people in Africa and further afield, given the expectations generated by its long-standing claims to a pivotal role in the promotion of the African Renaissance. The greatest threats to South Africa’s long-term interests and leadership aspirations on the continent are the structural weaknesses of its economy, widespread poverty and other crippling socio-economic problems that have continued to blight the post-apartheid era. Homelessness is exacerbated by the pace of urbanisation in the country: as of August 2013, 3.3 m South Africans lived in shacks or makeshift structures. The failure to transform South African society—as opposed to merely ameliorating some of its worst problems—is affecting South Africa’s ability to provide African leadership and project its influence across the continent.
