THE EMERGİNG POWER PARADİGM İN SOUTH AFRİCA’S RELATİONS WİTH INTERNATİONAL ORGANİSATİONS

Abstract

South Africa is one of the prominent countries of the African continent of 54 countries with its political and economic power. With the end of the apartheid regime, which was based on social segregation between 1948 and 1994, changes emerged both in domestic politics and foreign policy. The concrete indicator of this is the process of state-building with the new constitution. Peaceful, respectful of international law and human rights-based discourses resonated in the foreign policy of South Africa. In South Africa’s relations with the countries of the continent, the concept of development is at the forefront, while emphasis is placed on the operation of solution mechanisms for the problems that the continent is likely to experience. In this regard, it is seen that the African Union (AU) has been restructured with the conditions of the period as it entered the 21st century. In this respect, it is clear that South Africa has adopted a mission for itself within the AU. In addition, South Africa’s engagement with other organisations on a global level outside the continent is a result of its policy of being strong in international relations. Power categorisation in international relations can be evaluated within the framework of states’ capacities and foreign policy relations. In particular, as a concrete example of the South-South dialogue, South Africa’s rapprochement with Russia has important implications for the rising power paradigm, along with its relationship with China in line with BRICS. South Africa’s neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has negatively affected its peaceful and normative stance. It is discussed in the article as an indicator of how idealism and pragmatism intersect in South African foreign policy. Foreign policy analysis is conducted through the use of qualitative research methods in this article. As a result, the rising power paradigm for South Africa has been tried to be understood in line with the foreign policy approaches of the Mandela, Mbeki, Zuma and Ramaphosa governments since 1994. It is critical for South Africa, whose status as a rising power is being questioned, to balance rather than bandwagoning the relations it has established.