ABEL ESTERHUYSE
SOUTH Africa’s international relations department published a document on 1 August setting out the country’s new foreign policy. The outline of South Africa’s national interests is an important paper that sets out how the country will relate to the rest of the world for some time to come.
The title of the document is: Framework on South Africa’s National Interest and its Advancement in a Global Environment.
Governments are often cautious, for various reasons, about communicating their national interests. This is a first effort by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to contextualise South Africa’s national interests.
But the document falls short in key respects.
The first flaw is its title. It speaks of the national “interest” rather than interests (plural) – but in international relations there isn’t just one.
It’s also unclear what practical purpose its drafters envisaged it serving, or who its intended audience is. It’s unclear if it
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