The Roles of South Africa and the United States for the 21st Century International Agenda

As part of a broader inquiry on the possibilities for emerging powers to assume greater global leadership, the University of Pretoria Department of Political Science and the Stanley Center recently engaged prominent foreign policy experts from the United States and South Africa in a robust roundtable dialogue.

The event, held in Pretoria, South Africa, on March 19-20, brought members of the US foreign policy community and their South African counterparts together to compare perspectives on the challenges of preserving a rules-based international order.

Participants wrestled with mutual suspicions that painted the United States as being heavy-handed and self-serving and South Africa as too lax toward nations that run afoul of international norms. The discussion helped alleviate this mistrust somewhat by delving into South African and American views in greater depth and detail, breaking down stereotypes in the process.