A Foreign Policy to Die For: South Africa's Response to the Nigerian Crisis

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	A Foreign Policy to Die For: South Africa's Response to the Nigerian Crisis
Author:	Van Aardt, Maxi
Year:	1996
Periodical:	Africa Insight
Volume:	26
Issue:	2
Pages:	107-119
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	South Africa Nigeria
Subjects:	foreign policy human rights Politics and Government Inter-African Relations Law, Human Rights and Violence
Abstract:	This article highlights the dilemmas faced by a developing State, one that is part of Africa, in its attempts to base relations with other States on a commitment to human rights and related values such as democratization. Specifically, it explores a number of problems South Africa experienced in formulating and implementing a policy on Nigeria after the execution in 1995 of the Nigerian writer and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists. The first section deals (in broad terms only) with the 'theory' of foreign policy - the what and who and how thereof, and problems encountered when foreign policy focuses on nontraditional issues such as human rights. The second part analyses four interrelated problems South Africa faces in responding to the Nigerian crisis: the formulation and implementation of foreign policy; the apparent discrepancy between foreign policy ideals and the ability to put these ideals into practice; the difficulty of securing support for initiatives involving criticism of a fellow African State's conduct; and the general public's high expectations of what foreign policy can achieve. Notes, ref.