South Africa faces tough foreign policy balancing act

Significance

This is not the first time the three militaries have conducted such exercises, but this instance prompted significant criticism, coming as it did on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Impacts

• Pretoria’s situation highlights the effectiveness of years of ‘anti-colonial’ and ‘anti-imperial’ rhetoric across the annual BRICS meetings.
• Russia will try to extend its modestly successful arms- and energy-based engagement strategy with countries in Africa and elsewhere.
• Non-polarity, or the strategic choosing of allies depending on issues, may become increasingly attractive to African governments.