South Africa’s Foreign Economic Strategies in a Changing Global System

Image: Flickr, Number 10
Image: Flickr, Number 10

South Africa’s foreign policy has developed since the country’s transition to democracy in 1994. The South African government used to emphasise multilateralism as an important component in its international relations, keen to make itself heard on critical global issues.

Today, the three main pillars of its foreign economic strategies are multilateral trade negotiations, the Group of Twenty (G-20) and the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) forum. Given its relatively small economy, and wishing to use the forum as a platform for South–South solidarity, it is possible that South Africa will rely more closely on BRICS than on the G-20. South Africa needs to develop closer alignment between its foreign policy and domestic economic strategies.

The views expressed in this publication/article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).

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