Is South Africa Living Up to Its Responsibility as Africa's Leader?

We received an email last week from the Council of Foreign Relations informing us of an online debate on "Is South Africa Living Up to Its Responsibility as Africa's Leader?"

Francis Kornegay, a senior researcher at the Center for Policy Studies in Johannesburg, and Tom Wheeler, a research fellow at the South African Institute of International Affairs, are the debaters.

You can read the debate here: http://www.cfr.org/publication/12992/

It’s great to know that this prestigious publication is using blogs relevant to the topic of the debates to spread the word.

Here is a brief summary of the two arguments.

Francis Kornegay argues that South Africa is indeed measuring up to expectations as the leader of Africa when the correct frame of reference is applied; that is of Africa and the global South; rather than the usual preoccupation with Western expectations of ‘leadership’ and ‘responsibility’. (Kornegay obviously does not include Australia as part of the ‘Global South’; rather they form part of what he describes as ‘Global Apartheid’.)

Kornegay believes that the controversy surrounding our UNSC votes is more than offset by our leadership initiatives within Africa and beyond. There is much value in this point when considering our successes in the DRC, Burundi and the Ivory Coast.

Kornegay speaks highly of South Africa’s ‘leadership independence’. I disagree that our leadership is independent. Blindly following Russian and China behaviours at the UN surely indicates that our leadership falls far from that mark.

He offers an excuse for each of our controversial UNSC decisions I.e. he writes that our stance on Myanmar needs to be understood in terms of our need to leverage our influence on the issue of the Darfur crisis. Kornegay argues that the recent Chinese diplomacy with Sudan on the Darfur crisis is a result of our decision on Myanmar which better positioned us to engage China on Sudan. He excuses our refusal to place Zimbabwe on the UNSC agenda by explaining that it would have ‘complicated the current southern African strategy toward that country being spearheaded by Pretoria’. Does the complete and utter failure of this strategy (explained at commentry.co.za) not affect our report card?

Kornegay outrageously describes critics of the South African government and its policies as people who long for apartheid and boxes them in as part of the system of ‘global Apartheid’ (the Western dominated hierarchical global system). It is this ‘global apartheid’, says Kornegay, which informs South Africa’s politics and governance and focuses us on shaping a ‘new identity’.

Tom Wheeler takes a more critical stance arguing that our behaviour in the UN Security Council is in direct contradiction to the ANC’s stated uBuntu ideals wherein our fortunes are interconnected with the fortunes of others. There is a perception that we are merely paying lip-service to these ideals and that we have lost the moral high ground.

Wheeler argues that our responsibilities are not just global – but that they begin at home. The African Peer Review Mechanism provides African states with an opportunity to critique the quality of governance of African states that have signed up. When it came to South Africa’s turn to be reviewed, South Africa tried to dominate the process with our own self-aggrandising publicity material. The report was eventually compiled and much of it was highly critical of the ANC. Unfortunately much of it was eventually watered down to exclude politically sensitive issues, such as party financing and electoral system fairness.

Wheeler defends the right of civil society, international states, and foreign onlookers to citicise and debate South Africa’s foreign policy. The criticism is necessary to force South Africa to live up to the ideals it describes in documents such as the strategic plan of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Read the full debate and then weigh in on this debate by emailing the editors at [email protected]. Send us a copy of your views either by copying us on the email or copying the email into the comments section below.

Comments

[Gary]

There is nothing new here-the same old anti-imperialist', anti-'colonialist', anti-West, anti-Israel, pro-Communist, pro-totalitarian, pro-Islamic claptrap, a reworking of the tripe by Chomsky, Said and the old Soviet proagandists.
This is the only opinion we ever get in South African media, universities and NGO's these days.
They will support any tyrant as long as he is anti-Western.

It's not only that the New SA is pro-Arab. They actually are in an axis with the most radical Arab/Islamic States i.e Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Hamas/Hezbullah.
SA is far more radical in it's anti-Western and anti-Israel positions than moderate Arab governments like Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Joran, Saudi Arabia, the new Iraq and the Gulf Kingdoms.
The ANC/SACP regime was very close to Iraq when it was under Saddam, but was very reluctant to set up relations with the post-Saddam government.

If the Palestinian Authority ever does recognize Israel and stop terror, it's relationship with SA will go down the tubes.

[The Dictator / Embittered Correspondent]

Before joining The HSRC in Jan 2006, Virginia Tilley
www.counterpunch.org/tilley08282006.html was senior visiting fellow at
The Centre for Policy Studies. I think that this just about sums up
what sort of organization Francis Kornegay is employed by. As you know,
Dr Tilley refused to engage into a debate on It's Almost Supernatural
when I questioned the merit of her Counterpoint article regarding
President Ahmadinejad.

[The Dictator / Embittered Correspondent]

The following was sent to The Council on Foreign Relations (let's see
if it evokes any comments from Mr Wheeler and Mr Kornegay.)

RE: online debate: http://www.cfr.org/publication/12992/

Please could Mr Wheeler and Mr Kornegay comment on this attached item
from The Islamic Republic News Agency.

Do they think that Mr Kasrils has been acting responsibly?

Why hasn't this news item been discussed in the mainstream South
African media or in your online debate?

regards
ANTHONY POSNER

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC NEWS AGENCY
Tehran, April 11, IRNA
Iran-S Africa-Nuclear
Visiting South African Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils here
Tuesday evening voiced his country's support for Iran's peaceful
nuclear program.
In a meeting with Secretary of Supreme National Security Council
(SNSC) Ali Larijani, Kasrils said South Africa believes that Iran
should make use of all the existing potentials to develop peaceful
nuclear technology.
He further praised Iran's wise stand regarding its nuclear program.
Larijani, for his part, pointed to the reasons behind failure of the
US unilateral political approach and urged regional states to remain
vigilant to neutralize enemies' plots.
He underscored the importance of assisting the Palestinian people to
restore their rights.
During the meeting, Larijani and Kasrils called for further expansion
of relations between the two countries.
They also discussed ongoing developments in the Middle East region and
the latest developments in Iran's peaceful nuclear case.