South Africa's foreign economic policy: strategies of an emerging power

In democratic South Africa, the foreign economic policy introduced and implemented was shaped not only by the changes in the international distribution of power, evident in the international economy, but also by what happened at the State level. The ANC’s electoral dominance, strong Executive presidency, and the dominant discourse of liberation ideology, shaped the multilateral character and South-South orientation of foreign economic policy. Relations with the economic powers, the USA and the EU are initially considered as regards South Africa’s integration into the global economy. More weight is given to the relationship with the G8, the IMF and the WTO and South Africa’s participation in global economic governance. But it is argued that the multilateral setting of the WTO provided the best setting for South Africa’s strategies of reformism through the power of ideas, alliances and coalition building. However the reformist vision in application has resulted more in a foreign policy enhancing bilateral relations rather than contributing to a new articulation of a democratic, multilateral global order.