Explaining post-apartheid South African human rights foreign policy: unsettled identity and conflicting interests

Borer, T.A. and Mills, K. (2011) Explaining post-apartheid South African human rights foreign policy: unsettled identity and conflicting interests. Journal of Human Rights, 10(1), pp. 76-98. (doi: 10.1080/14754835.2011.546278)

Abstract

The end of apartheid in 1994 brought with it many expectations – both domestically and internationally – about the kind of state the new South Africa would be and the foreign policies it would pursue, with many expecting South Africa to pursue a human rights-based foreign policy. However, South Africa has pursued a much more paradoxical foreign policy, with significant gaps between its stated commitment to human rights principles and its action in support of those principles. This article seeks to explain these gaps. Delving into the literature on norms-based and interest-based explanations of state behavior, it argues that both approaches help to explain South Africa’s foreign policy actions. However, it is the unsettled nature of its identities and interests after 1994, as its leaders (in particular Thabo Mbeki) sought to reconcile a commitment to democracy and human rights with equally strong (if not greater) commitments to Afrocentrism and anti-imperialism, which provides the most interesting avenues for exploration.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mills, Dr Kurt
• Authors: Borer, T.A., and Mills, K.
• Subjects: J Political Science > JZ International relations
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Journal of Human Rights
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 1475-4835
• ISSN (Online): 1475-4843
• Published Online: 23 February 2011
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2011 Taylor and Francis
• First Published: First published in Journal of Human Rights 10(1):76-98
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher