“The shackled continent” - that is Robert Guest’s chosen title for his book
about decades of failure on the African soil (Guest 2004). And indeed, Africa
suffered from years of economic crisis, political violence and genocides, food
shortages and nature catastrophes. Many people have lost their hopes in
Africa but there is still a chance for a bright future of the indigenous continent.
No, there is no easy solution for Africa, but there are several ways how to
improve Africa’s situation. One way out of the misery is the concept of
regional integration. Based on the perception that African nation states can’t
compete with global players in a networked world, regionalism offers the
power of the many. For Africa, whose economically strongest nation state
South Africa is not even producing 0,5% of the worldwide GDP (Notshulwana
2004: 58), regionalism seems to be a chance out of poverty. But the
conditions need to be created in terms of stable democracies, qualified
leadership and guaranteed rights in every single state.
In this assignment I will analyse the role of the big player South Africa on the
continent as well as within the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) guided by the question: Which role does South Africa play in Africa?
In the beginning I will have a look at the process of regional integration in
southern Africa in the light of regionalism all over Africa. It will be surveyed
what goals are formulated for SADC and which progress was make up till
now. The foreign policy of Post-Apartheid South Africa will be broached in
chapter two. I will further analyse South Africa’s guidelines towards the
SADC and investigate which role the rainbow nation normatively wants to
play in Africa. Equipped with basic knowledge about the institution SADC and
South Africa I will then make my points on the core issue of this paper: Does
South Africa got the resources to act as a hegemon on the continent like the
United States in America? Is the government willing to play that role or are
the pretensions different? In chapter 3 I will work out South Africa’s
hegemonic tendencies and compare them in chapter 4 with the power term
Zivilmacht. Both chapters will first focus on southern Africa and then broaden
the view on the whole continent. The conclusion will contain an evaluation –
South Africa’s status quo: a hegemon or Zivilmacht?
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The regional integration in Southern Africa
2. The foreign policy of South Africa since 1994
2.1 SADCC / SADC
2.2 Africa
3. South Africa as a Hegemon?
3.1 In the SADC zone
3.2 On the African continent
4. South Africa as a “Zivilmacht”?
Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper examines the role of South Africa within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the wider African continent to determine whether the nation acts as a regional hegemon or operates as a "Zivilmacht" (civilian power).
- Analysis of South Africa's foreign policy principles post-Apartheid.
- Evaluation of regional integration processes and their challenges in Southern Africa.
- Assessment of South Africa's economic and military capabilities as a potential hegemon.
- Application of the "Zivilmacht" concept to explain South Africa's international behavior.
- Examination of the tension between normative ambitions and real-world influence.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 In the SADC zone
Apart from normative ambitions in South Africa’s foreign policy – the status quo according to economic strength and political power expression will be analysed in this chapter. This chapter focuses therefore not on what South Africa wants to be for the region. I will rather find out what it could be for southern Africa.
Consulting the literature the picture drawn is presenting South Africa as an emerging middle power with responsibility for the regional array (Nolte 2006 in: Erdmann 2007: 2) This conviction is based on obvious facts that display South Africa as the strongest economic and military power (Erdmann 2007: 2). South Africa’s leading position becomes obvious in comparison to the second biggest economy in SADC. While Tanzania got a GDP of 8,8 bill. US$, South Africa is managing a GDP of 131,1 bill. US$. This is more than 72% of SADC’s GDP (Notshulwana 2004: 30). Most of South Africa’s trade is conducted with the SADC member states. We can therefore summarize that South Africa is the dominant power in the region which is highly aware of its leading position. The disproportion between South Africa and the rest of SADC lead to a situation called “hegemon’s dilemma” (Hentz 2004: 33). The neighbour states do know that SADC wouldn’t work without South Africa and do acknowledge their economic potential but they are sceptical towards a too dominant policy of the power holder (Hentz 2004: 33). They fear especially policies to break down the tax borders and therefore open SADC to the strong South African companies like Game and Woolworth (State of the Nation 2007: 513). This fear is more than reasonable. A closer look at the export sectors of the SADC members demonstrates that South Africa is diverse enough to compete in several sectors while most of the other SADC members are not broadly orientated enough to compete with the power holder.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Outlines the challenges facing Africa and introduces the central research question regarding South Africa's role as a regional actor.
1. The regional integration in Southern Africa: Discusses the history of regionalism and the formation of SADC, noting the divergence between ambitious integration goals and actual progress.
2. The foreign policy of South Africa since 1994: Examines the six basic principles of South African foreign policy established by Nelson Mandela and their practical application.
2.1 SADCC / SADC: Analyzes South Africa's tenuous relationship with regional organizations and its tendency to prioritize bilateral trade agreements.
2.2 Africa: Explores South Africa's continental influence, the "African Renaissance" concept, and the role of initiatives like NEPAD.
3. South Africa as a Hegemon?: Defines the theoretical concept of a hegemon and sets the stage for evaluating South Africa’s capabilities.
3.1 In the SADC zone: Assesses South Africa's economic dominance and the "hegemon’s dilemma" within the Southern African Development Community.
3.2 On the African continent: Concludes that despite economic superiority, South Africa lacks the capacity to project hegemonic power across the continent.
4. South Africa as a “Zivilmacht”?: Introduces the "Zivilmacht" theory as a more accurate framework for describing South Africa's foreign policy behavior.
Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, confirming that South Africa is not a hegemon but rather functions as a "Zivilmacht" in both SADC and Africa.
Keywords
South Africa, SADC, Regional Integration, Foreign Policy, Hegemon, Zivilmacht, African Renaissance, NEPAD, Economic Cooperation, Multilateralism, Peacekeeping, Political Economy, Regionalism, Diplomacy, Power Dynamics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this assignment?
The work investigates the role of South Africa in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and on the African continent, specifically asking whether the country acts as a hegemon.
What are the central themes of the analysis?
Key themes include the evolution of regional integration, South Africa's post-Apartheid foreign policy principles, the definition of hegemony, and the applicability of the "Zivilmacht" (civilian power) theory.
What is the core research question?
The research is guided by the overarching question: "Which role does South Africa play in Africa?"
Which methodology is employed in this study?
The author uses a qualitative approach, applying political science theories—specifically Wallerstein’s definition of a hegemon and Maull’s "Zivilmacht" concept—to analyze empirical data and government policy documents.
What topics are covered in the main body of the text?
The main body covers the history of regional integration, South Africa's foreign policy principles, an evaluation of its economic and military power in the SADC zone, and a comparison of its actions against civilian power criteria.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include South Africa, SADC, Hegemon, Zivilmacht, Foreign Policy, Regional Integration, and African Renaissance.
Why does the author argue that South Africa is not a hegemon?
The author concludes that while South Africa is the strongest economic power, it lacks the necessary military reach, financial resources, and political willingness to subordinate or dictate terms to its neighbors in a true hegemonic fashion.
How is the "Zivilmacht" concept applied to South Africa?
The concept is applied by measuring South Africa’s adherence to criteria such as favoring diplomacy, using economic incentives, preferring multilateral arrangements, and viewing military force as an "ultima ratio."
- Citar trabajo
- Florian Pretz (Autor), 2008, Which role does South Africa play in Africa?, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/113400
