Berlin Global Advisors Managing Partner Martin Wiesmann analyzes in his guest contribution for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung how South Africa is seeking to balance its historical legacy, economic interests and pursuit of strategic autonomy.

The recent BRICS summit in New Delhi also reflects South Africa’s determination to assert its position between the major centres of power without giving up its close economic ties with Europe and other Western markets.

The article highlights the tensions inherent in this approach. South Africa’s foreign policy identity continues to be shaped by the legacy of the liberation struggle and non-alignment. At the same time, weak growth, high unemployment, the need for international capital and the importance of foreign export markets are pushing the government towards geopolitical pragmatism.

South Africa therefore raises a central question of our series: What are the limits of strategic autonomy when political identity, economic dependencies and competition between major powers simultaneously constrain a country’s room for manoeuvre?

The full FAZ guest contribution by Martin Wiesmann can be found here: South Africa as a Middle Power: Between ANC Legacy and Geopolitics | FAZ