Cross-border conflicts on the African continent have increased tremendously in the post-colonial years. The widespread border conflicts on the African continent have been attributed to the arbitrariness with which Africa’s national boundaries were drawn during the colonial period. The colonial boundaries have left the doors open for perpetual conflicts among African states. This thesis proposes to investigate the prospects of grassroots diplomacy as an option of dealing with border conflicts with specific reference to the case of Lesotho/South Africa border relations. This is done by critically evaluating the role the District Liaison Committees (DLCs) have played in border relations between Lesotho and South Africa. The Lesotho and South African governments have institutionalised the resolution of border conflicts at grassroots level through the establishment of the DLCs. The DLCs consists of representatives of border communities in Lesotho and South Africa. The paper introduces a not so familiar concept of involving people at grassroots levels in the conducting of diplomacy between the two neighbouring countries. The central issue implicit in this paper is that grassroots diplomacy is succeeding in the case of Lesotho and South Africa. The DLCs have managed to reduce tension between the two countries along the borders which had existed over a long period of time, thereby, relieving the central governments of some of their duties. The thesis contents that high level conventional diplomacy is not always the answer to cross-border conflicts. The example of Lesotho and South Africa could be followed by other African countries in similar situations.

M.A. (Politics) / This study was concerned with the relations of South Africa and international actors in the Southern African region. It was noticed that there was a shortage of quantitative studies, especially on international behaviour. in South Africa. For this reason a quantitative method, events-analysis, was used. The method quantifies actions of states over a period of time; the period January 1982 to December 1982 was used in the present study. Relations in Southern Africa were researched through hypotheses concerning reciprocal relations. issues and conflictive or co-operative behaviour. The actors studied include states such as Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Non-state actors such as Swapo, the ANC, Unita and the PAC were also taken into consideration. It was found that the relations between South Africa and international actors in Southern Africa were reciprocal. Conflictive actions evoked conflictive reactions whereas co-operative actions evoked co-operative reactions. It was of interest that relations were mostly issue-orientated. The issues studied were security, economic, territorial and political. S.W.A./Namibia was also included as an issue. Security issues totally dominated relations in Southern Africa. Actions concerning security issues were found to be mostly conflictive and largely connected to the actor's attitude towards the ANC. Relations between South Africa and states such as Mozambique and Lesotho were very conflictive. These two states were outspoken supporters of the ANC. Quite the reverse applied to states such as Swaziland and Botswana. Neither of them supports the ANC materially and relations with South Africa were therefore more co-operative.

Text in Afrikaans / Suid-Afrika het sy diplomatieke bande met Taiwan verbreek en hegte diplomatieke bande met Sjina in 1998 aangeknoop. Hierdie hegte verhouding wat tussen Suid-Afrika en Sjina ontwikkel het, word dikwels deur politici, die media en vakbonde veroordeel as nadelig vir Suid-Afrika. Ten einde hierdie veroordelings te staaf, of te weerlê, is ‘n analise van die politieke, ekonomiese en militêre verhouding tussen Suid-Afrika en Sjina onderneem. Aangesien Suid-Afrika voor 1998 verhoudinge met Taiwan gehandhaaf het, kon die verhouding wat tans tussen Suid-Afrika en Sjina bestaan, vergelyk word met die vorige verhouding met Taiwan. Die verhandeling kon gevolglik tot ’n gevolgtrekking kom rakende die verhouding. / In 1998 South Africa broke off diplomatic ties with Taiwan when it established full relations with China. Since then, South Africa’s ties with China have been frequently criticised by politicians, the media and trade unions as disadvantageous to South Africa. To refute or confirm this perception, an analysis of the political, economic and military ties between South Africa and China has been undertaken. South Africa’s relations with Taiwan prior to 1998 are the basis for the comparison of South Africa’s relations with China. As a result, this dissertation is able to reach a conclusion regarding these ties. / Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

Text in Afrikaans / Suid-Afrika het sy diplomatieke bande met Taiwan verbreek en hegte diplomatieke bande met Sjina in 1998 aangeknoop. Hierdie hegte verhouding wat tussen Suid-Afrika en Sjina ontwikkel het, word dikwels deur politici, die media en vakbonde veroordeel as nadelig vir Suid-Afrika. Ten einde hierdie veroordelings te staaf, of te weerlê, is ‘n analise van die politieke, ekonomiese en militêre verhouding tussen Suid-Afrika en Sjina onderneem. Aangesien Suid-Afrika voor 1998 verhoudinge met Taiwan gehandhaaf het, kon die verhouding wat tans tussen Suid-Afrika en Sjina bestaan, vergelyk word met die vorige verhouding met Taiwan. Die verhandeling kon gevolglik tot ’n gevolgtrekking kom rakende die verhouding. / In 1998 South Africa broke off diplomatic ties with Taiwan when it established full relations with China. Since then, South Africa’s ties with China have been frequently criticised by politicians, the media and trade unions as disadvantageous to South Africa. To refute or confirm this perception, an analysis of the political, economic and military ties between South Africa and China has been undertaken. South Africa’s relations with Taiwan prior to 1998 are the basis for the comparison of South Africa’s relations with China. As a result, this dissertation is able to reach a conclusion regarding these ties. / Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis argues that F.W. de Klerk's historic February 1990 speech was the end product of a set of circumstances in recent South African and global history which made possible the new phase of transitional politics which South Africa is currently experiencing. It seeks to establish that of all the factors that contributed to change, it was the late 1980s thaw in the Cold War, and its resultant repercussions internationally and regionally which was the catalytic factor which made the new era possible. In all the literature on transition there has been no comprehensive analysis of the plausible link between the two superpowers agreeing in the mid-1980s to abandon confrontational practices and to change their approaches to regional conflicts and the South African government agreeing to negotiate for a new political dispensation. This thesis will seek to establish and analyse such a link. By 1986 there was in certain governmental circles a non-public view that the policy of apartheid had failed both as a solution to the problem of black political aspirations and as a legitimating ideology. Constraining any serious move towards political change was a widely held fear at the top level of government that an accelerated reform process would make South Africa vulnerable to external aggression and internal revolutionary forces. This thesis suggests that the collapse of communist rule in Eastern Europe and the 'new political thinking' in Soviet foreign policy resulted in the notion of a communist-inspired total onslaught against South Africa losing currency - as did the position of those within the ruling elite who remained dogmatically attached to it. The end of the Cold War is the common thread which links South Africa's international , regional and domestic environments. Two important events occurred in the international and regional arenas, which against the backdrop of the end of the Cold War, strengthened the credibility of the alternative view in government: (i) the October 1986 Reykjavik Summit and (ii) the South African Defence Force setback at Cuito Cuanavale. P.W. Botha's resignation as leader of the National Party and soon after as State President created the political space through which the view of the reformers could emerge as dominant. Recognising that neither the international nor regional environments sustained the beliefs and fears held by the military hawks, F.W. de Klerk was able to capitalise on the ambience of negotiations and apply it to the South African situation. De Klerk's February 1990 speech was therefore the culmination of a process which had its origins in the mid-1980's.

Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

No description available.

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The international relations of regions, cities and towns include a variety of activities of which the phenomenon of twinning, or the establishment of a relationship with a community in a foreign country, is normally the most prominent and long lasting. Twinning originated in the aftermath of World War Two in Europe and the concept soon spread to America, where it was defined as a new form of “citizen-to-citizen” diplomacy. Twinning has since evolved through three distinct phases: the reciprocal phase; the associative phase; and the commercial exchange phase, and an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 cities and towns globally are involved in such relationships. This study, which aimed to identify and assess the extent of international twinning relations of South African provinces (regions) and local communities (in cities and towns) and to establish guidelines for twinning success, was conducted in an interdisciplinary manner and had to cover a wide terrain as the field of twinning worldwide is under-researched. The twinning between two communities in different countries was defined as a strategic alliance, and the bodies of literature on strategic alliances in the private sector as well as on the factors that lead to twinning success were investigated. A systems approach was followed and the twinning phenomenon was investigated from a macro perspective by investigating the context, content and process of the phenomenon worldwide; from a meso perspective by investigating the context of twinning in South Africa; and from a micro perspective by investigating the content and process of South African twinnings. The literature study revealed duplication and confusion in the terminology used to describe twinning and its related concepts, and conceptual clarification was necessary to develop a common terminology for the future. In this study, therefore, an important distinction is also made between the twinning of municipalities, and the twinning of communities. From the literature study, success factors for twinning were identified. Based on these, a conceptual model of twinning was developed which embodies the best-practices content and process elements of twinning, and this model was used to construct the primary research questionnaire. Elements of the conceptual twinning model were subjected to significance testing. It was confirmed that similarities of the personalities on both sides, partner commitment, understanding, cultural sensitivity, positive partner attitude, community awareness of the twinning, existence of a business plan, quality of management, management commitment and active marketing relate significantly positively to alliance success. The primary research conducted amongst all provinces and municipalities in South Africa, combined with secondary research sources, revealed the number and extent of the twinnings of South African communities and municipalities with foreign partners. Altogether 35 relationships were identified that have lapsed, 130 current relationships exist, and 41 new ones are in the process of being concluded. Another 60 relationships exist on the provincial level. These twinnings represent non-central-government-level linkages with 45 foreign countries, but only a few of these relationships are successful in meeting their original objectives. Some of the key findings of the study are that twinning is becoming more important globally as multilateral organisations acknowledge the importance of international relations at the local level and that twinning can play a big part in local economic development and promoting unity on the African continent, but is lacking in South Africa due to an absence of back-up and support, a lack of coordination and synergies between the three spheres of government, a lack of marketing, a lack of municipal capacity at local level, and the non-compliance of municipalities with official policy. The main positive outcomes of South African relationships were reported in the areas of knowledge sharing and training, and financial benefits. Key recommendations are that on the macro level, global coordination and assistance schemes for twinning be improved and that community ownership of twinning be put back at the centre of the focus of twinning; on the meso level, an organisation be formed to facilitate South African twinnings and to provide support; and at the micro level, alternative sources of funding be sought and that the process model developed in the study be used to increase the possibility of twinning success. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die internasionale verhoudinge van streke, stede en dorpe sluit ‘n groot verskeidenheid aktiwiteite in waarvan die verskynsel van tweelingbande (“twinning”), of die vestiging van ‘n verhouding met ‘n gemeenskap in ‘n vreemde land, normaalweg die prominentste en langslewende is. Die vestiging van tweelingbande het sy oorsprong in die nagevolge van die Tweede Wêreldoorlog in Europa, waarna die konsep spoedig versprei het na Amerika waar dit gedefinieer is as ‘n nuwe vorm van “burger-tot-burger”-diplomasie. Tweelingvorming het intussen ontwikkel deur drie duidelike fases: die wederkerige fase; die assosiatiewe fase; en die kommersiële-uitruilfase, en ‘n geraamde 15,000 tot 20,000 stede en dorpe wêreldwyd is betrokke in sulke verhoudinge. Hierdie studie, wat ten doel gehad het om die internasionale tweelingbande van Suid- Afrikaanse provinsies (streke) en plaaslike gemeenskappe (in dorpe en stede) te identifiseer en die omvang daarvan te bepaal en om riglyne vir tweelingbandsukses vas te stel, is onderneem op ‘n interdisiplinêre wyse en moes ‘n wye terrein dek aangesien daar min navorsing oor tweelingbande wêreldwyd bestaan. Die tweelingvorming van twee gemeenskappe in verskillende lande is gedefinieer as ‘n strategiese alliansie en die literatuur oor strategiese alliansies in die privaat sektor, sowel as die literatuur oor faktore wat lei tot tweelingbandsukses, is ondersoek. ‘n Stelselbenadering is gevolg en die tweelingverskynsel is ondersoek vanuit ‘n makroperspektief deur ‘n ondersoek na die konteks, inhoud en proses van die verskynsel wêreldwyd; vanuit ‘n mesoperspektief deur ‘n ondersoek na die konteks van tweelingbande in Suid Afrika; en vanuit ‘n mikroperspektief deur ‘n ondersoek na die inhoud en proses van Suid-Afrikaanse tweelingbande. Die literatuurstudie het duplikasie en verwarring ontbloot in die terminologie wat gebruik word om tweelingbande en verwante konsepte te beskryf, en konseptuele verheldering was nodig om ‘n gemeenskaplike terminologie vir die toekoms te ontwikkel. ‘n Belangrike onderskeid is gevolglik ook getref tussen die tweelingbande van munisipaliteite en die tweelingbande van gemeenskappe. Vanuit die literatuurstudie is suksesfaktore vir tweelingbande geïdentifiseer. Op grond hiervan is ‘n konseptuele model van tweelingvorming ontwikkel wat die bestepraktyk-inhoud en -prosesse omvat, en hierdie model is gebruik om die primêre navorsingsvraelys saam te stel. Elemente van die konseptuele model is daarna onderwerp aan beduidendheidstoetsing en dit is bevestig dat ooreenkomste in die persoonlikhede aan beide kante, vennootverbintenis, begrip, kulturele sensiwiteit, positiewe vennoothouding, gemeenskapsbewustheid van die tweelingband, bestaan van ‘n sakeplan, gehalte van bestuur, bestuursverbintenis, en aktiewe bemarking ‘n beduidende positiewe verhouding met alliansiesukses het. Die primêre navorsing wat onderneem is onder alle provinsies en munisipaliteite in Suid- Afrika, gekombineer met sekondêre navorsingsbronne, het die aantal en omvang van tweelingbande van Suid-Afrikaanse munisipaliteite en gemeenskappe met vennote uit vreemde lande blootgelê. Altesame 35 verhoudings is geïdentifiseer wat verval het, 130 huidige verhoudings bestaan, en 41 nuwes is in die proses van finalisering. ‘n Verdere 60 verhoudings bestaan op die provinsiale vlak. Hierdie tweelingbande verteenwoordig niesentraleregeringsvlakbande met 45 vreemde lande, maar net ‘n aantal van hierdie verhoudinge is suksesvol wat die bereiking van oorspronklike doelwitte betref. Van die sleutelbevindinge van die studie is dat tweelingvorming wêreldwyd meer belangrik word aangesien multilaterale organisasies die belangrikheid van internasionale verhoudings op die plaaslike vlak erken en dat tweelingbande ‘n groot rol kan speel in plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkeling en die bevordering van eenheid op die Afrika-kontinent, maar dat tweelingvorming in Suid-Afrika te kort skiet as gevolg van ‘n tekort aan ondersteuning, ‘n tekort aan koördinasie en sinergie tussen die drie regeringsfere, ‘n tekort aan bemarking, ‘n tekort aan munisipale kapasiteit op plaaslike vlak, en die nie-nakoming van amptelike beleid deur munisipaliteite. Die belangrikste positiewe uitkomste van Suid-Afrikaanse verhoudinge is gerapporteer in die areas van kennisdeling en opleiding, en finansiële voordele. Sleutelaanbevelings is dat op die makrovlak, wêreldwye koördinasie van en hulpskemas vir tweelingvorming verbeter word en dat gemeenskapseienaarskap van tweelingbande weer die fokus van tweelingvorming word; op die mesovlak, dat ‘n organisasie in Suid-Afrika gevorm word om Suid-Afrikaanse tweelingbande te fasiliteer en om ondersteuning te verskaf; en op die mikrovlak, dat alternatiewe befondsingsbronne gesoek word en dat die prosesmodel wat in die studie ontwikkel is, gebruik word om die moontlikheid van tweelingbandsukses te verhoog.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of M.Sc. Building(Construction Project Management) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / When firms expand into foreign markets, selecting the right entry mode strategy can be challenging and there are many variables that should be taken into consideration. There are various theories and constructs in the study of entry mode choice and risk is one of the common theories. It is therefore imperative for managers to take strategic international risks into consideration when deciding on an entry mode strategy. This study investigates the influence of these risk variables on the selection of entry mode strategies by managers within South Africa’s grade 9 construction firms. Research on entry mode choice dates back as far as the 1980’s and over the years many theories have been developed, thus a deductive research approach has been adopted for this study. Research aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of strategic international risk variables on the preferred entry mode strategy, within the context of South Africa’s construction industry focusing on grade 9 firms registered with the CIDB (Construction Industry Development Board). Research questions: What is the general profile of managers in South Africa’s grade 9 construction firms involved with the entry mode strategy decision? Which entry mode strategy is preferred by managers in South Africa’s grade 9 construction firms, when venturing into other construction markets on the African continent? and, what influence do strategic international risk variables have on the preferred entry mode choice by managers in South Africa’s grade 9 construction firms? Research methodology: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of strategic international risks on the preferred entry mode choice. The study is founded on a direct realist philosophy. The survey research strategy was used and a questionnaire was sent out to collect the required data and the mono-method research choice was applied to collect and analyse the data. Furthermore, a cross-sectional time horizon has been applied in this study. The qualitative data collection method was used together with the qualitative content analysis method of analysis. Research procedure: To answer the above questions, Grade 9 contractors / XL2018