From the Outside In

Domestic actors and South Africa’s foreign policy What is South Africa’s foreign policy, who makes it and why does it matter? These are the varied questions that scholarship has grappled with following South Africa’s triumphant return to the global stage in 1994. In this edited volume, the authors assess the position and input of actors beyond the traditional structures of the Presidency and the department of international relations and cooperation, most notably civil society actors in foreign policy decision-making. In an environment where domestic actors are argued to be found increasingly on the outside of policy decision-making circles, this book brings back into the fold the discussion of the value of participation. In looking at foreign policy through the different standpoints of other government departments, parliament, labour, business, the African National Congress (ANC), civil society and the role of gender, the chapters offer insights into how South Africa’s foreign policy is understood and how these actors seek an input in its direction. It is this engagement that ultimately makes foreign policy matter to all South Africans as the country moves forward in a turbid international environment. CONTENTS: Introduction Bringing plurality back in from the cold: Domestic actors and South Africa’s foreign policy - Chris Landsberg and Lesley Masters; Chapter 1 Government departments and the challenges of integrated foreign policy-making - Anthoni van Nieuwkerk; Chapter 2 Subnational governments and the localisation of foreign policy in South Africa - Fritz Nganje; Chapter 3 Between Plein Street and Soutpansberg Road: Parliament and foreign policy during the Zuma presidency - Jo-Ansie van Wyk; Chapter 4 The ANC worldview and implications for South African foreign policy: Review of the 2015 foreign policy discussion document - Chris Landsberg, Francis A Kornegay Jr and Lesley Masters; Chapter 5 Labour Unions and South Africa’s foreign policy: The case of COSATU - Khwezi Mabasa and Liesl Orr; Chapter 6 Big business and foreign policy: Cog or driver of South Africa’s international relations machinery? - Odilile Ayodele; Chapter 7 Women, gender and South Africa’s foreign policy: The need for an inclusive approach to foreign policy decision-making - Lesley Masters; Chapter 8 The elitist love-hate affair: Civil society and South African foreign policy (dis)engagement - Chris Landsberg; Voice from the periphery: Grassroots social movements and South Africa’s foreign policy; Insights and perspectives on South Africa’s foreign policy from the Unemployed People’s Movement, Grahamstown; Conclusion Bringing civil society back in - Chris Landsberg and Lesley Masters