Composers, conductors and players: Harmony and discord in South African foreign policy making TIM HUGHES KONRAD-ADENAUER-STIFTUNG • OCCASIONAL PAPERS • JOHANNESBURG • SEPTEMBER 2004 © KAS, 2004 All rights reserved While copyright in this publication as a whole is vested in the Konrad-Adenauer- Stiftung, copyright in the text rests with the individual authors, and no paper may be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission, in writing, of both authors and the publisher. It should be noted that any opinions expressed are the responsibility of the individual authors and that the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung does not necessarily subscribe to the opinions of contributors. ISBN: 0-620-33027-9 Published by: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung 60 Hume Road Dunkeld 2196 Johannesburg Republic of South Africa PO Box 1383 Houghton 2041 Johannesburg Republic of South Africa Telephone: (+27 +11) 214-2900 Telefax: (+27 +11) 214-2913/4 E-mail:
[email protected] www.kas.org.za Editing, DTP and production: Tyrus Text and Design Cover design: Heather Botha Reproduction: Rapid Repro Printing: Stups Printing Foreword The process of foreign policy making in South Africa during its decade of democracy has been subject to a complex interplay of competing forces. Policy shifts of the post-apartheid period not only necessitated new visions for the future but also new structures. The creation of a value-based new identity in foreign policy needed to be accompanied by a transformation of institutions relevant for the decision-making process in foreign policy. Looking at foreign policy in the era of President Mbeki, however, it becomes obvious that Max Weber’s observation that “in a modern state the actual ruler is necessarily and unavoidably the bureaucracy, since power is exercised neither through parliamentary speeches nor monarchical enumerations but through the routines of administration”,* no longer holds in the South African context.