Africa: Country Should Strategically Define Its Interests in Relation to South Africa

opinion

NATIONAL interests in the conduct of foreign policy are not an abstract principle, but they ought to constitute concrete phenomena in well-calibrated strategic foreign policy thinking.

Certainly, there is space for the evolution of such interests. But the evolution of national interests should be the result of a focused political process. More importantly, this evolution on the basis of clearly identified and defined objectives should be the leitmotif of the foreign policy of a small state like Namibia. Namibia's history, in particular its 'struggle era' is explicitly tied to liberation movements and ruling parties in Southern Africa, including the African National Congress of South Africa and the Movimento Popular de Libertaçao de Angola (MPLA) and Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe. This history anchors Namibia's foreign policy identity in substantive ways, and particularly the conduct of Namibia's relations to states in Southern Africa and continental African processes. Broadly, this also defines how Namibia conducts itself in global affairs, mostly with a clear bias based on discourses of the South. However, as a country, Namibia is too small to matter on its own. It has a small population, a small economy and does not have the diplomatic clout to pursue certain positions. Using more powerful neighbours, including South Africa and Angola, can be a sound avenue to shape the course of events, which the country would ordinarily not be in a position to influence.

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