What is South Africa’s foreign policy, who makes it and why does it matter? These are the varied questions that scholarship has grappled with following South Africa’s triumphant return to the global stage in 1994. In this edited volume, the authors assess the position and input of actors beyond the traditional structures of the Presidency and the department of international relations and cooperation, most notably civil society actors in foreign policy decision-making. In an environment where domestic actors are argued to be found increasingly on the outside of policy decision-making circles, this book brings back into the fold the discussion of the value of participation.

In looking at foreign policy through the different standpoints of other government departments, parliament, labour, business, the African National Congress (ANC), civil society and the role of gender, the chapters offer insights into how South Africa’s foreign policy is understood and how these actors seek an input in its direction. It is this engagement that ultimately makes foreign policy matter to all South Africans as the country moves forward in a turbid international environment.