While the current dispute between South Africa and the Trump administration raises big questions about our foreign policy, we should not forget who we are as a nation. How our government responds to US President Donald Trump could come to define us as South Africans.
The decision by the US government to declare South Africa's former ambassador Ebrahim Rasool persona non grata because of comments he made about that government has sparked a huge amount of public commentary about how our government should respond.
While much of this is valid, useful and constructive, two eternal foreign policy principles should not be forgotten.
The first is that we do not have permanent friends, only permanent interests. The second is that foreign policy begins at home.
This means that how South Africa responds will be determined by our domestic politics and not just the rational dictates of economics.
The last two weeks have seen changes in international relations that were unthinkable only a month ago.
It took just one shouting match in the Oval Office for the EU to develop amnesia over what was previously presumed to be South Africa's support for Russia.
Suddenly President Cyril Ramaphosa was hosting the two most senior leaders of the EU. Their motive was clear: they needed to bolster support for multilateralism and to find someone who could personify that.
South Africa may soon be seen by many other nations as "anti-Trump". As previously pointed out, South Africa stands for...
