Ramaphosa and a new dawn for South African foreign policy

Abstract

President Cyril Ramaphosa's notion of a New Dawn as the clarion call for his presidency is yet to manifest fully in South Africa's foreign policy. However, some changes are already indicating a departure from the Zuma era's foreign policy. Ramaphosa's emphasis on foreign direct investment and trade seems to be the cornerstone of his tenure's foreign policy. Besides this, some other developments and continuities require deeper reflection; one of the objectives of the fourth volume of the highly successful South African Foreign Policy Review series. Broadly a reflection and assessment of the Ramaphosa era, the volume intends to focus on foreign policy leadership, foreign policy architecture, diplomacy, questions such as national interests and national identity, and South Africa's bi- and multilateral relations. Contributors to volume 4 include South African and international experts, and will, like previous volumes, be of great use to diplomats, academics, students, government officials, parliamentarians, politicians, the media, and civil society.

Volume 4, continues to build on the analysis of South Africa's conduct internationally. The Review fills a gap in the continuity of analysis on South African Foreign policy, providing an important resource in tracing trends and developments. If the country is to maintain and grow its role in the region and international affairs more broadly, the public, scholars, and practitioners need to be able to take stock of how the country has conducted itself internationally so far, and how it could improve on a number of fronts including areas such as regional leadership, balancing principles and practice, and supporting diplomatic practice.

The fourth volume of the South African Foreign Policy Review, edited by Lesley Masters, Jo Ansie van Wyk, and Philani Mthembu, includes 18 chapters. In reviewing the conduct of South African foreign policy, the analysis focuses on key themes in South Africa's foreign policy, with a particular focus on the Ramaphosa administration and the idea of a 'New Dawn'.

The book provides consideration of the norms and values, architecture, and practice of foreign policy through exploring conceptual frameworks and reviewing diplomacy in practice.