South Africa's Style of Leadership in the Southern African Development Community is Widely Criticised : is this justified?

Abstract

Abstract The main aim of this study is to provide an exploration on criticisms and justifications of South Africa’s Leadership Style within the SADC region with hope of filling some of the literature gaps in the subject under enquiry. The identified research problem is due to the agreements and disagreements in the existing literature on whether South Africa is a hegemon, pivot or self-appointed leader in Southern Africa and Africa at large. The literature does not appear to take into consideration the constraints presented by the principle of sovereign equality of states provided for in the 1992 SADC Treaty when criticising South Africa for not acting decisively on countries that violate the human rights. The other problem is due to the quandary that SA finds itself in on whether to apply its perceived hegemonic authority in providing decisive leadership to the SADC region or to maintain the stand of being the first amongst equals. The judgemental or purposeful sampling of literature was applied because the primary and secondary sources provided the reliable information to achieve the objectives of the study. Data collection techniques that the researcher relied on included the South African National Development Plan, 1992 SADC Treaty, document and desktop analysis. Data was analysed to determine if the criticism of South Africa’s style of leadership in the Southern African development Community is justified. South Africa was, until August 2019, a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Troika of the Summit and its joint leadership role is critical for political stability, regional economic integration and investments in SADC. The study explored how South Africa’s leadership style would be compromised if it is not in the SADC Double Troika, hence the need to lobby to become a permanent member of SADC Double Troika. If successful, this would close the existing gab in the country’s leadership agenda. The country applies quiet diplomacy in its engagement with SADC member states. However, there is a gap because it has not been firm enough when engaging the region on matters of good governance. South Africa’s ability to act decisively on human rights violations in the region is constrained by the principle of sovereignty equality of states, which is enshrined in the SADC Protocol of 1992. The economic strength of South Africa in Southern Africa is indisputable. Regional, continental and global interests lie at the heart of South Africa’s foreign policy. This research investigated South Africa’s prospects as the most qualified State to lead the regional integration processes in Southern Africa. It was established that South Africa has the most diversified economy in the region and therefore critical to drive SADC’s developmental regionalism. This is primarily due to its soft power, advanced infrastructural development, superior economic strength and mediation/facilitation capabilities. It is prudent for South Africa to find some ways of becoming a permanent member of the SADC Double Troika of the Organ (either in the SADC Troika or SADC Organ Troika) so that it could exercise its leadership collectively with other Troika members.