Royal African Society

This is a timely book on an important subject. South Africa is one of the three giants of the African continent—along with Nigeria and Egypt—and since the end of apartheid it has been finding a new voice and a new role in the world. This excellently edited collection of authoritative chapters by scholars and practitioners provides a comprehensive study of the issue. The book analyses South African foreign policy in a series of ‘concentric circles’. Initially Adekeye Adebajo and Kudrat Virk look at the domestic drivers and policy themes, including peacemaking, defence, human rights, and economic and commercial interests. Widening the circle, the book turns to describing South Africa's key bilateral relations within Africa, with a chapter on each main region, including the Great Lakes. Next the edited volume moves from looking at bilateral to multilateral relations in Africa with the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) all examined extensively. Moving beyond the African continent, the focus shifts to South Africa's key bilateral relations with the United States, the United Kingdom, France and China. The final part of the book assesses South Africa's relations with global multilateral organizations—such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries—as well as looking at the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Adebajo's introduction and Virk's conclusion provide perceptive overviews that knit the themes together.

Richard Dowden's feature in The Times (16 May 2005) was widely discussed at the Oxford British Zimbabwe Society Research Day—alongside the then ongoing destruction of slums in Harare. Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society, but here writing in his personal capacity, has updated his piece for this issue of The Round Table. In a brief but masterly round-up of regional factors, Dowden concludes, bleakly that engaging with Mugabe may lead to few gains—but that the alternatives are worse.