Analysis of Pretoria’s Peace Diplomacy in Africa From 1994-2014 By Hanna Mhlongo Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Social Science in the subject of Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies at the School of Social Sciences, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban Supervisor: Sanele Nene Durban, South Africa July 2015 Declaration I, Hanna Mhlongo declare that, The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise specified, is my original work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. This thesis does not use other people’s data or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other people. This thesis does not use other people’s writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, their words have been paraphrased but the general information attributed to them has been referenced. Where their exact words have been used, then their writing has been placed inside quotations marks and referenced. This thesis does not contain text copied and pasted from the internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the reference sections. Signature: _________________ Date: ________________ Supervisor: Mr Sanele Nene Signature: ___________________ Date: _______________ ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank Almighty God for giving me the courage to complete this thesis when many times I felt it was impossible. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Mr Sanele Nene, for his valuable academic contribution towards the investigation of this study. His wealth of knowledge helped me develop a critical thinking in investigating this thesis. I will forever be grateful for his assistance which helped me to complete this study. To my family, and friends, I would not have finished this work without your support and encouragement. To my colleagues, thank you for believing in me when I sometime doubted if I could finish this research. I would also like to thank everyone who contributed, in any way, to the successful completion of this research. I will always value your help. Last, I would like to thank the University of KwaZulu-Natal for giving me a chance to develop my research skills and the resources to help me investigate this thesis. iii Abstract and Key Terms Pretoria’s foreign policy has undergone evolution since the advent of democracy as the ANC government has moved to take its place in the international relations arena. This evolution has seen South Africa establish itself as a significant role player in peace diplomacy in the African continent. From the time Pretoria started engaging in peace diplomacy, its efforts have met many challenges. For instance, in the 1990s, the democratic government created enemies in the continent after Pretoria publicly criticised the Nigerian government for executing the Ogoni activists, who included writer Ken Saro-Wiwa. As a result after 1999, Pretoria emphasised respecting other African nations’ sovereignty. South Africa resolved that it would engage in conflict resolution when invited by its counterparts. Through the launch of the African Renaissance, a continent’s renewal programme, South Africa has engaged in peace diplomacy through multilateralism. This way Pretoria has managed to achieve its goal of promoting Africa’s development on the one hand and on the other hand avoid to be seen as meddling in other African nations’ domestic affairs. Pretoria has also received praise for its peace diplomacy in countries such as Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). And many observers attribute South Africa’s success in peace mediation to the role Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma have played as principal foreign policy actors during their presidencies. While many foreign policy observers claim that Pretoria’s foreign policy was rooted in the idealistic approach during Mandela’s presidency, Mbeki’s was based on realistic approach and Jacob Zuma has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, this is not entirely true. There is evidence that classifying Pretoria’s foreign policy as such is a simplistic understanding of the country’s international relations. Many observers also contend that while the post-apartheid government continues to make its mark as a peace mediator in the continent, South Africa’s foreign policy is still full of contradictions. iv Key words: foreign policy, peace diplomacy, conflict resolution, peacekeeping, African Renaissance, qualitative research, grounded theory, methodology, idealism, realism, theoretical framework, quiet diplomacy v Acronyms ANC – African National Congress APRM – African Peer Review Mechanism AU – African Union AU PSC – AU Peace and Security Council Codesa – Convention for a Democratic South Africa DRC – Democratic Republic of Congo Ecowas – Economic Community of West African States EU – European Union GPA – Global Political Agreement ICD – Inter-Congolese Dialogue ICGLR – International Conference on the Great Lakes Region M23 – 23 March Movement MDC – Movement for Democratic Change UN – United Nations SADC – Southern African Development Community SANDF – South African National Defence Force IRIN – Integrated Regional Information Network UNSC – UN Security Council Nato – North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Nepad – New Partnership for Africa’s Development OAU – Organisation of African Unity PFNL – Paliphehutu-FNL UK – United Kingdom USA – United States of America WWI – World War I WW II – World War II Zanu-PF – Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front vi Table of Contents DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................................................ II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................................... III ABSTRACT AND KEY TERMS .................................................................................................................................. IV ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................................... VI TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................ VII Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 10 1.1 Background of the Study ......................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Defining the Research Problem and Hypothesis ................................................................................. 12 1.3 Objectives of the Study ............................................................................................................................ 14 1.4 Key Questions to be Asked ..................................................................................................................... 15 1.5 Justification of the Study .......................................................................................................................... 16 1.6 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................................................ 17 1.7 Chapter Outline ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 20 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................................. 20 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 20 2.2 When is the Literature Review Conducted? ......................................................................................... 20 2.3 Conceptual Clarification ........................................................................................................................... 21 (a) Foreign Policy ............................................................................................................................................ 21 (b) Conflict Resolution .................................................................................................................................... 22 (c) Peacekeeping............................................................................................................................................. 23 (d) Peacemaking ............................................................................................................................................. 24 2.4 Nature of South Africa’s Foreign Policy ................................................................................................. 26 2.5 South Africa’s Position in the Continent ................................................................................................ 28 2.6 South African Citizens and the Foreign Policy ....................................................................................