Windy Smith
March 16, 2005
IR 725
Professor Pentony
Article brief
I have chosen two articles out of the book, Comparative Foreign
Policy: Adaptation Strategies of the Great and Emerging Powers, edited by Steven W.
Hook, published in 2002. Steven W. Hook is Associate Professor at Kent State
University in the Political Science Department. The articles I have chosen to discuss are
Chapter eleven, South Africa: From the Shadows, by Peter J. Schraeder and chapter
seven, The Foreign Policy of Modern Brazil, by Andrew Hurrell. The book focuses on
new emerging world powers and how their foreign policies are changing with the newfound roles of developing countries as emerging sovereign states after the Cold War. The
countries discussed in this book include China, Japan, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Iran, and
South Africa. I chose the articles discussing South Africa and Brazil since they are the
two leading countries in the Southern region, and the leading countries in Africa and
South America respectively.
South Africa: From the Shadows was written by Peter J. Schraeder, Associate
Professor in the Political Science Department at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois.
He specializes in African politics and has many books and articles published about
African affairs in International Relations theory. The article gives a brief history of the
events in South Africa after the post-Cold War era and the abolishment of South African
apartheid. Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki became the first black majority president
and vice president in democratic elections in the year 1994. In 1999, Nelson Mandela
stepped down to honor Thabo Mbeki with the presidency. Thabo Mbeki is the elected
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president in South Africa today. Their main agenda was to focus on African affairs and
aid in the responsibilities of Africa, especially since South African is in the leading
political and economical position of the continent. Their main agendas in foreign policy
are to increase their military (especially in international affairs such as peacekeeping
missions), create a new department of foreign affairs, lead in the “African Renaissance”
which views South Africa as a key figure in Africa, and the desire to strengthen ties with
international organizations such as the United Nations and strive for a seat on the UN
Security Council.
South Africa has made many changes in the last twenty years. Due to the influx of
multinational corporations and refugees, South Africa is becoming more diversified and
international. There still are many challenges that South Africa faces such as over 35%
unemployment, the AIDS pandemic, and unparalleled crime. There are also changes
happening within the legislation between the power dynamics of the executive branch
and parliament. Globalization and the new emerging power that South Africa has
achieved effects the way South Africa will chose to direct its foreign policy, such as
adhering to a universal “westernized” standards or becoming more of isolationist
sovereignty. The author states, “Its primary concern is whether “universality” and
economic self-interests should serve as the guiding principles of South African foreign
policy. Indeed the unwillingness of both the Mandela and Mbeki administrations to be
outspoken over the human rights violations of Castro’s Cuba and other supporters of the
anti-apartheid struggle has prompted critics to charge that post-apartheid South Africa is
guilty of doing exactly what it condemned others for doing during the apartheid era:
turning a blind eye toward human rights violations in the name of promoting economic
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self-interest. In my own opinion, I would like South Africa to make decisions that refrain
from the typical corrupt decisions that many African countries and their political regimes
make, so that South Africa will be not only an economic and social leader of the African
continent, but also a role model for freedom, unity, and the empowerment of all African
people.
The second article that I would like to address is The Foreign Policy of Modern
Brazil, by Andrew Hurrell, who is University Lecturer in International Relations and
Fellow of Nuffield College, University of Oxford. He specializes in International
Relations theory, especially in Latin America and the foreign policy of Brazil. The author
discusses historical events of Brazil, such as the recession of the 1980’s, which led Brazil
to be more attached to the United States than it would have originally chosen to be, and
therefore “reinforcing U.S. hegemony across the Western Hemisphere.”(pg. 148) Yet,
this emergence of a new world power and free trade partnership in the Americas helped
Brazil to secure economic stability. Brazil is now a key player in international markets
and the global economy, which has helped to change the foreign policy of Brazil to fit
into global norms. Brazil has become much more industrialized, especially with
multinational corporations and international organizations becoming an integral part of
Brazil’s domestic agenda. During the post-Cold War era, Brazil responded to the United
States hegemony in three ways. “First, as both common sense and realist theory would
expect, Brazil sought to diversify its foreign relations in order to reduce its dependence
on Washington. Second, Brazilian foreign policy took an increasingly nationalist and
Third World stance. Thirdly, relations with Washington varied considerably because its
leaders supported the U.S. government on several important issues in the hope that a
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special relationship would produce both direct benefits as well as ideological support.”
(pgs. 154-155).
Brazil, like South Africa, wishes to enhance its relations with international
organizations such as the United Nations, especially with the prospects of a seat on the
UN Security Council. Brazil, like South Africa, is a leading economic and political force
on its continent and as a Southern state. Also South Africa and Brazil are taking an active
role with humanitarian agendas and becoming active in UN peacekeeping missions and
other international affairs. Brazil and South Africa are also leading states in trade in their
region. For example, Brazil in involves in NAFTA, the North American Free trade Area
and in Mercosur, a trade agreement among different countries in Latin America such as
Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. South Africa is part of COSATU, the
Congress of South African Trade Unions, which helps to establish trade relations with
neighboring southern African countries. South Africa also has trade agreements with
larger superpowers such as the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. These
are examples of the diversity of multinational connections that are creating in global
political economy.
I would recommend this book to a person who is becoming interested in the
international affairs of emerging countries. I feel that the articles in this book are vague
and barely touch the surface of the complexity involved in the countries foreign policies,
yet are good for a person who may not know anything about the emerging countries and
their place in the global world. The articles in this book are easy to read and explain the
basics in a way that can be enjoyable. I feel that this book may be too ‘a matter of fact’
for a person well versed and well read in the field of International Relations. On a scale
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from 1-10, where 1 is the highest grade, I would give this book a 4.5, and I would
recommend this book for an undergraduate in IR or possibly a high school student
interested in learning more about developing countries.
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