A thesis submitted to the Wits School of Social Science, Faculty of Humanities,
University of the Witwatersrand in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Johannesburg
2015 / The literature on International Relations purports that the proliferation of strategic
partnership, particularly at the minilateral level, is explained with reference to the
inherent characteristics of this latest archetype of international alignment. Although it
is generally accepted that it is the inherent characteristics of strategic partnership that
make it an effective diplomatic and political tool through which states can
strategically position themselves in a shifting global arena, this assumption has yet to
be validated. The aim of this research study is to elucidate the extent to which, and
how, strategic partnership at the minilateral level impacts upon the global strategic
position(ing) (GSP) of its member states. Combining universal comparison in case
study methodology with constructivist perspectives, South Africa’s dual membership
of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum and the Brazil-Russia-India-
China-South Africa (BRICS) Forum are used to test the hypothesis that strategic
partnership at the minilateral level enhances the GSP of its member states. The
considerable overlap in membership of IBSA and BRICS yields two related research
questions addressed in this study; what it is that India, Brazil and South Africa are
better suited to achieve through IBSA without China and Russia; and what it is that
China and Russia (the two BRICS members not in IBSA) bring to the table.
The findings of this research study reveal that membership of IBSA and of BRICS
has made a positive impact upon South Africa’s GSP according to the three strengths
by which GSP is measured. However, the impact of IBSA on South Africa’s GSP is
limited and largely confined to the diplomatic arena, while in the case of BRICS the
impact is more significant and cuts across the diplomatic, political, economic and
social spheres. As part of these findings, the particular issue-areas in which IBSA and
BRICS respectively make a discernible impact upon South Africa’s GSP are
identified.
These findings show that IBSA and BRICS are better suited to dealing with different
issue areas, which enables the two forums to be considered sui generis entities on
separate but parallel tracks. Further than this, the findings provide valuable insight
into South Africa’s strategic approach to international politics in the 21st Century; in
particular how South Africa seeks to leverage its soft power in the international
system through the intensification of its network power. More significantly, though, at
the theoretical level these findings show that strategic partnership at the minilateral
level is not by itself sufficient to strengthen the GSP of its member states. Instead, the
extent to which a strategic partnership has an impact upon a member state’s GSP is
determined by the particular composition of that minilateral alignment; that is to
which particular states are (minimally) essential to achieving a particular identified
mutually desired outcome. Thus, a smarter more targeted approach to minilateral
alignments may well rest not only in a “magic number” but, more crucially, in their
composition.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/18411 |
| Date | 02 September 2015 |
| Creators | Chidley, Colleen Alison Esme |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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