Description
This paper analyses the intricacies of South Africa’s human rights based foreign policy within the context of a shifting geopolitical landscape, characterised by a ‘new cold war’ and conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. While the liberal international order underwritten by the United States is under threat, not just from emerging powers with alternative approaches to human rights, but from the West’s inconsistent application of human rights principles, South Africa seeks to position itself as a guarantor of global human rights. In doing that, the paper examines the complexities emerging from South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, threats to leave the International Criminal Court, and its voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly. In doing that, the paper highlights how South Africa is seeking to navigate and influence the evolving the global human rights framework despite competing narratives and approaches.
