Perceptions of South African foreign policy in the African Union

South Africa plays a very important role on the African continent, both politically and economically. She is often the main protagonist behind various peace-making efforts both regionally and continentally, and now she plays an even more important part in the African Union. In July 2012 South African candidate Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was elected as chairperson of the African Union Commission, in an election which highlighted a need to investigate the perception of South Africa in the African Union. South African foreign policy has gone through various stages, from being internationally isolated during the apartheid era to being on the forefront continentally during the successive post-apartheid presidents. The electoral discourse in 2012 however, highlighted some divergent opinions on South African foreign policy which this study investigates. What was identified during the election campaign was a possible negative perception of South African foreign policy, both politically and in terms of the private sector. The study sought to investigate how South Africa is perceived on the African continent, and in order to reach a conclusion it performed a policy analysis as well as a qualitative discourse analysis of the statements given during the election. The policy analysis contextualises and explains South African foreign policy agendas and choices, and the discourse analysis sought to reveal any negative perceptions of South African foreign policy. The findings of the study are that there is a general negative perception of South Africa and her foreign policy in Africa, due to several reasons, which will be discussed in the following study. The negative perceptions stem from the Eastern region, the Western region, as well as from South Africa itself, through political analysts and experts