Parliament, foreign policy and civil society in South Africa

In: South African journal of international affairs, Band 9, Heft 1, S. 69-74

Abstract

There is little serious debate over the desirability of an active civil society in South Africa's new democracy. (...) As occurs in many democratic governments, however, the area least open to public input is foreign policy. Yet as foreign policy issues increasingly impinge on the lives of South Africans, (...) so the level of interest in foreign policy issues is likely to increase within South African civil society. (...) While the content of South African public opinion is not the focus of this briefing, the important role of public opinion in a democracy is good reason to examine the dynamics of policymaking in South Africa in 2002, and their implications for civil society participation in matters of foreign policy. This briefing attempts to offer some observations and analysis that might contribute to the discourse. (SAJIA/DÜI)