For how Long can South Africa ‘punch above its Weight’?

Abstract

South Africa is a privileged member of various global governance clubs. This status is based on its relative economic weight in sub-Saharan Africa and its legacy of ?soft power? derived from the peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy. However, those foundations are waning in the face of the African National Congress (ANC) government's growing ambivalence towards democratic norms and the relatively rapid growth and development taking place in sub-Saharan Africa. The ANC government's own policy choices, particularly its emphasis on state-driven economic policy, and the internecine power struggles racking the party have set the country's economic policy adrift. Thus investor confidence has been undermined at a time of global economic crisis. Taken together, these trends suggest South Africa's days as the African representative of choice are numbered. Ironically, this development may portend reversal of current trends, by concentrating the ANC leadership's collective mind on what really needs to be done to restore growth, and international confidence, in the country.