From Norm-Maker to Norm-Taker? South Africa, the BRICS, and the African National Congress’ Hegemonic Decline

Keywords: South Africa, Norms, BRICS, Africa
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 68

Abstract

Following the establishment of its first democratic government in 1994, the South African state began an international rehabilitation program. The isolationism of the apartheid regime was replaced by a desire for integration into regional and continental formations and a new ambitious reformist agenda based on a series of 7 principles relating to human rights, democracy, and peace, was set at the centre of South Africa’s foreign policy. Drawing on its position as Africa’s most diversified economy and Mandela’s moral authority, South Africa became known as a norm entrepreneur. Yet in recent years, beginning with the Jacob Zuma administration, the country has taken a more pragmatic and, in some ways, less principled stance in relation to its engagements with both other African countries and regional institutions.

This chapter traces South African norm entrepreneurship, particularly in terms of democracy and human rights promotion, throughout the post-apartheid period, focusing on the diffusion of specific norms toward African states and regional institutions. It argues that the shift in South Africa’s promotion of certain norms can be explained by domestic dynamics, particularly the ANCs hegemonic decline, and decisions undertaken by the party to restore its popular support. The resultant contradictions, alongside ideological shifts within the party and novel multilateral alliances (in the form of the BRICS), have made previous positions untenable.