Governing Parties and Southern Internationalism: a Neoclassical Realist Approach to the Foreign Policies of South Africa and Brazil, 1999-2010
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The London School of Economics and Political Science Governing Parties and Southern Internationalism: a neoclassical realist approach to the foreign policies of South Africa and Brazil, 1999-2010 Candice Eleanor Moore A thesis submitted to the International Relations Department of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London September 2011 To my parents, Christopher and Valie Moore 2 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). I consider the work submitted to be a complete thesis fit for examination. I authorise that, if a degree is awarded, a paper and/or electronic copy of my thesis will be deposited in the British Library of Political and Economic Science and that, except as provided for in regulation 32 it will be made available for public reference and inter-library loan. I authorise that by submitting my thesis to the Library, the Library is permitted to digitise it to assist in the long-term preservation and accessibility of my thesis. I authorise the School to supply a copy of the abstract of my thesis for inclusion in any published list of theses offered for higher degrees in British universities or in any supplement thereto, or for consultation in any central file of abstracts of such theses. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. SIGNED: CANDICE ELEANOR MOORE 3 4 ABSTRACT The international relations literature on internationalism in foreign policy has not taken account of the internationalist methods and motives of countries of the developing world. This thesis aims to correct this absence through an analysis of Southern internationalism, as evidenced by the foreign policy approaches of South Africa and Brazil in the first decade of the 21st century. By utilising a neoclassical realist approach to the study of the emergence of new powers, the use of internationalism as a foreign policy tool is interrogated as a response both to domestic imperatives, such as perception and identity, and systemic constraints and opportunities. Central to the analysis is an examination of the role of governing parties in foreign policymaking, both as key actors in determining policy, and as the sources of ideational constructs, in this case ‘internationalism’, that have a bearing on foreign policy. Foreign policymakers are limited in their perceptions and responses to external threats and opportunities by the domestic institutional structure, as well as by external threats and opportunities. In South Africa, responses are often limited to rhetoric, owing to limited resource extraction capacity, in spite of the highly centralised foreign policymaking structure under Mbeki. In Brazil, constitutional checks and balances also limited the state’s responses to external stimuli under Lula; yet, these responses, when they are implemented, can be more forceful owing to greater resource capacity. The ‘new Southern internationalism’, propounded by both South Africa and Brazil, is a function of domestic politics and external pressures, as evidenced by the Haiti case. These findings make a contribution to advancing the analysis of emerging powers, their trajectory and intentions in international relations, as well as the extent to which governing parties can influence foreign policy outcomes, and under which conditions. 5 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Nothing that preceded the years of writing this thesis prepared me for the experience. I would like to begin by thanking the British Commonwealth Commission for providing me with the opportunity to study at one of the foremost research institutions in the world, the London School of Economics and Political Science. I was awarded a three-year scholarship, including funding for one research trip. The British Council, notably, Ms Claire Farnsworth, administered this award not just with efficiency, but with greatest sensitivity. I would further like to thank the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust for extending to me the resources to spend a further full year in London. I am also grateful to the International Relations Department at LSE for supplementing my funding with research studentships in 2007-8, 2009-10 and 2010-11, as well as funding part of my research trips to South Africa in 2007 and Brazil in 2008. I would like to thank the Abbey Santander Trust for funding my 2010 short trip to Brazil. In matters academic, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Chris Alden, for his time, patience, and encouragement; and numerous readings of this text. I thank my high school history teacher, Mrs Melanie Enslin; my undergraduate university Politics professor, at the former Rand Afrikaans University, Deon Geldenhuys; and, my first mentor, Professor Raymond Suttner. I would like to thank the busy staff at the Ministry for External Relations in Brazil for arranging and keeping appointments with me; as well as the staff at the University of Brasília and PUC- Rio; and, the staff of the International Office of the Partido dos Trabalhadores in São Paulo, along with the staff of the South African Embassy in Brasília. I also thank the participants in the North-South Dialogue/Foreign Policy Analysis seminar of the IR Department at LSE for their insightful interjections on my work over the years. I spent a semester as a Mellon Lecturer at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. I thank Prof Paul Bischoff for his interest and discussions during that time. I thank Professor Chris Landsberg for many discussions on South Africa’s foreign policy and for reading the Conclusion. I thank Mehmet Ozkan and Professor Kim Hutchings for the readings they provided. I thank Prof Margot Light for her early guidance and support. I thank all who allowed themselves to be interviewed. Any remaining errors and oversights in the work are, of course, my own. For their friendship, some since the beginning, and some more recent, but no less cherished, I thank Lillian Zhang, Jasmine Gani, Claire Beaugrand, Zeynep Kaya, Kevork Oskanian, Matthew Arnold, Uzzi and Nancy Ohana, Hanspeter Heinrich, Shuxiu Zhang, and Miriam Allam. My special thanks go to Chris Desmond who was a friend from the first day, gave me funding ideas at a crucial time, and finally encouraged me to finish. I thank my friends in Brazil, Leonardo Alves, Mauriceia Oliveira, Annabel Haslop and Maria. I thank the staff and residents of the International Lutheran Student Centre in Bloomsbury, where I lived from August 2007 to December 2010. I especially thank David Lopes Perez, Lester Geroy, Emilie Barnett, Kinga Koren, Sairat Noknoy, Noppawan Siriphol, Miriam Campbell, Adela Krupova and Pui Chan. For caring about the well-being of one of hundreds of students and area employees who patronise their establishment every 7 day, I thank the staff of Wright’s Bar for remembering the way I drink my coffee and ensuring that I was never hungry. I would like to thank Henry Radice and Serena Sharma for a productive, enlightening, and stimulating year co-editing Millennium: Journal of International Studies in 2006-7. Thanks go to Martina Langer of the IR Department for her efficiency and friendliness, as well as the staffs of the LSE Library, and the Senate House Library. For their love, support, and never asking, ‘When will you be done?’, I would like to thank my family. My close-knit family endured my absence for four years. My parents to whom this thesis is dedicated, my mother Valie, who still encourages me, and my father Christopher, whom I lost during the writing of this thesis while on fieldwork in Brazil, are the dubious beneficiaries of this humble vote of gratitude. It pales into insignificance beside all they have selflessly given my sisters and me. My sisters, Chanelle Moore and Nadine Stow, a doctor and teacher, respectively, give me so much inspiration daily. My nephew, Nikolas, makes everything worthwhile. My grandparents, all of whom passed away before I started this project, deserve my thanks and to be remembered for never wavering in their love and support of my academic efforts while I was growing up. My brothers-in-law, Grant and Evan, are owed thanks for understanding ‘what we may and may not ask Candice about her PhD’. I thank my dear extended family member, Dorah Mose, for lifelong love and encouragement. Ultimately, there have been very many occasions on which I doubted very deeply whether this was a goal worth pursuing. I faced many uphill battles in all areas of this endeavour. However, my faith in God has been the rock on which I have leaned most heavily. I thank God for replenishing my personal and professional resources on more occasions than I can remember. It is not easy being a scientist and a Christian, but I am fortunate to be both scientist and Christian, rather than scientist alone. Candice Eleanor Moore Johannesburg, 2011 8 9 LIST OF SIGNIFICANT ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ABC Agência Brasileira de Cooperação ANC African National Congress BRIC Brazil, Russia, India, China CAMEX Câmara de Comércio Exterior CARICOM Caribbean Community CDES