The foreign policies of Mandela and Mbeki : a clear case of idealism vs realism?

[摘要] After 1994, South African foreign policymakers faced the challenge of reintegrating a country,isolated for many years as a result of the previous government's apartheid policies, into theinternational system. In the process of transforming South Africa's foreign identity from a pariahstate to a respected international player, some commentators contend that presidents Mandelaand Mbeki were informed by two contrasting theories of International Relations (IR), namely,idealism and realism, respectively.In light of the above-stated popular assumptions and interpretations of the foreign policies ofPresidents Mandela and Mbeki, this study is motivated by the primary aim to investigate theclassification of their foreign policy within the broader framework of IR theory. This is done bysketching a brief overview of the IR theories of idealism, realism and constructivism, followedby an analysis of the foreign policies of these two statesmen in order to identify some of theprinciples that underpin them. Two case studies – Mandela's response to the 'two Chinas'question and Mbeki's policy of 'quiet diplomacy' towards Zimbabwe – are employed to highlightapparent irregularities with the two leaders' perceived general foreign policy thrusts. It takes theform of a comparative study, and is conducted within the qualitative paradigm, with researchbased on secondary sources.The findings show that, although the overarching foreign policy principles of these two formerpresidents can largely be understood on the basis of particular theoretical approaches, theyneither acted consistently according to the assumptions of idealism or realism that are ascribed tothem. The conclusion drawn is thus that categorising the foreign policies of presidents Mandelaand Mbeki as idealist and realist, respectively, results in a simplistic understanding of theperspectives that inform these two statesmen, as well as the complexity of factors involved inforeign policymaking. More significantly, it is unhelpful in developing a better understanding ofSouth Africa's foreign policy in the post-1994 period.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University