The limits of power

Pretoria's new diplomats win continental plaudits but face more chaos in their neighbourhood

Pretoria's expansionists are having a good year. Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma was elected to the chair of the African Union's newly formed Peace and Security Council and South Africa is tipped to host the new African parliament against Libya's questionable claims as mother of democracy. Moreover, after a third landslide election victory at home, the self-belief of the governing African National Congress has never been higher. Key to that belief is South Africa's image overseas, particularly among fellow African states. The new institutions being launched at the AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this week all bear an unmistakable South African imprint.

Article Tags:
Dlamini Zuma, Libya, Ethiopia, Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Kenya, Mozambique, Shaping the 21st century, United States, Warren Christopher, Zimbabwe, Thabo Mbeki, Greg Mills, Frank Chikane, Nelson Mandela, Sani Abacha, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Tony Blair, Britain, Aziz Pahad, Mo Shaik, Jonas Savimbi, Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, John Garang de Mabior, Ugandan, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Cuba, Peacemaking problems in Kinshasa and Khartoum, Lesotho, Tanzania, Brazil, India, Walking on two legs, Swaziland, Mswati, Trevor Manuel, Nicholas Stern, George W. Bush, Iraq, John Stremlau, Côte d'Ivoire

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