South Africa, known globally my its nickname the “Rainbow Nation,” has long been an important regional power in Africa and ranks as one of the larger-scale economies on the planet. The name refers to the plethora of ethnic groups and cultures which call the country home, all (in theory) equal under the multi-party democracy established in 1994. Additionally, South Africa has been known as a nation which respects human rights both domestically and abroad. These high praises have begun to be cast into doubt, as economic and social issues, including systemic governmental corruption, have altered South Africa’s trajectory towards evermore cordial relations with the world’s authoritarian regimes.
Understanding the country’s position on the world stage today requires understanding its history and its relationship with the global West. The modern incarnation of the country was created in 1994, with the end of the apartheid system of racial segregation. However, South Africa as a polity was created in 1910, born out of a union of four British colonies (Cape Colony, Orange River, Natal, and Transvaal). This new country, named the Union of South Africa, was given dominion status which gave it autonomy from the United Kingdom while still retaining membership within the British Empire.
Though politically aligned with the West as a British dominion, anti-British sentiment was widely felt amongst the Dutch-descended settler population, called Boers or Afrikaners. British expansion in Southern Africa had come at the expense of Boer settlements, beginning with the British seizure of Cape Town during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806, followed by a mass exodus (the Great Trek) of Boers farther into the continent’s interior. These Voortrekkers established independent republics, which eventually came (often forcefully) under British control culminating in the Second Boer War from 1899 – 1902. Though South Africa became an independent dominion eight years later, many Boers felt little loyalty to the British crown, resulting in a failed rebellion by Boer generals during the First World War, and an attempt to remain neutral in the Second World War by former Boer general and South African Prime Minister Barry Hertzog.
Post-Second World War, South African leadership resisted the global trend of decolonization, and doubled down on enforcing white supremacy. Minister of Native Affairs and later prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd spearheaded the implementation of comprehensive system of racial segregation on a national scale, called apartheid (literally aparthood). Apartheid was widely condemned by the international community, which resulted in South Africa’s exit from the British Commonwealth, abandonment of the monarchy, and heavy sanctions being placed on the country. Though Verwoerd was assassinated in 1966, subsequent South African leadership maintained or even expanded apartheid, with South Africa further becoming isolated from the rest of the world despite its attempts to maintain ties with the west through anti-communist policies and stances.
For black South Africans, apartheid ruled their everyday lives. Where they could live, work, and even enjoy recreational time was strictly enforced by the government. So too were black South Africans often the victim of police violence, such as a student protest in Soweto which ended with hundreds being killed by police and over 1000 injured. Apartheid opposition leaders of the African National Congress (ANC), such as Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, were imprisoned or exiled under the guise of “anti-communism.” This began to change in 1990, with the election of State President F. W. de Klerk who began to dismantle apartheid and transition South Africa to a full democracy, culminating in Nelson Mandela’s and the ANC’s election in 1994.
Despite South Africa’s turbulent relationship with the rest of the world, its foreign policy had long been heavily aligned with the West. Its membership in the British Empire had seen South Africa fight alongside the Allies in both World Wars, as well as in the Korean War. Additionally, during the founding of NATO in the late 1940s, South African Prime Minister Daniël Malan had (unsuccessfully) attempted to join NATO as a full member state. During his election, Mandela declared “human rights will be the light that guides our foreign policy.” Accordingly, South Africa began to emerge as a strong democratic nation and embrace the ideals of a liberal democracy. Laws and policies were enacted to legally entrench equality and provide legal protections from discrimination, making South Africa a proponent of equality and justice at home and globally. For example, South Africa became the fifth nation on Earth to legalize and provide legal protection for discrimination against homosexual marriage. Furthermore, in 2024 South Africa brought a case of genocide against Israel, likening Israel’s occupation of Gaza to its own past of apartheid, while also condemning Hamas for its 7 October attacks on Israel.
In 2025, the ANC still maintains its status as ruling party of South Africa and has seen five presidents in power since 1994. Subsequent presidents after Mandela’s exit of politics in 1999 have ever-increasingly put South Africa’s adoption of liberal democratic principles into question. South Africa’s membership in the BRICS coalition in 2010 moved the country into a much closer relationship with authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China, and more recently Iran.
Nowhere was this trend more clearly demonstrated than with the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022. Despite the fact that Russia has been repeatedly accused of committing over 130 000 war crimes in its expansionist war in Ukraine, South Africa has been remarkably silent. Though initially putting out a statement calling on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine, the ANC government quickly reversed this stance and has adopted a stance of pro-Russian neutrality. South Africa has abstained on many UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion and has come short of affirming its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. In 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin was invited to South Africa to attend a BRICS summit, where, despite their legal obligation to do so, the South African government announced it would not arrest Putin for war crimes as per the International Criminal Court warrant for his detainment. Additionally, South Africa participated in naval exercises with Russia and China in 2023. Also in that year, the ANC annual party conference released a statement which read “the US provoked the war with Russia over Ukraine, hoping to put Russia it in place.” This came after the ANC Youth League sent observers to witness Russia’s referendums in the occupied Ukrainian territories, which were described by the observers as “a beautiful, wonderful process.” These referendums have widely been dismissed by Western governments and international organizations as rigged propaganda shows designed to give Russia some legitimacy in their invasion.
It is worth noting however, that many of these policies have been at the direction of the ANC and are not fully supported by the South African populace. Western Cape, the only of South Africa’s nine provinces to not be controlled by the ANC, has been staunch in its support of Ukraine. Cape Town’s city hall was lit up with the Ukrainian flag colours on the outbreak of the invasion, and the mayor called on the federal government to do more to end “Russian imperialist aggression.” What’s more, the Western Cape provincial cabinet officially condemned Russia’s invasion, and affirmed that if Putin entered the province, he would be detained by Western Cape law enforcement in accordance with South Africa’s responsibility to the International Criminal Court. Though the South African people have had a long history of fighting for human rights, the ANC trajectory has been to cozy up to authoritarian leaders. Change, however, may be on the horizon. South Africa’s opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has demonstrated in Western Cape that they firmly stand with Ukraine against Russia’s numerous human rights violations. In 2024, the ANC lost their majority for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994. This could signal a shift in South African politics, that the people are growing weary of the ANC and their increasing ties with authoritarian regimes abroad.
