It’s hard to overestimate the role Henry Kissinger played in Chile. A former Chilean diplomat describes the mark that the powerful statesman made in his country and elsewhere in the Global South.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
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South Africa’s foreign policy under Ramaphosa emphasises economic diplomacy and ‘progressive internationalism’, which promotes global equity and ending the dominance of the global north.
A German Leopard 2 heavy battle tank of the type destined for Ukraine.
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Henry Kissinger’s influence on US foreign policy was profound. His transactional approach – avowedly values free – included support of murderous and genocidal foreign leaders.
South African foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, right, hosts US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, for the SA-US Strategic Dialogue in Pretoria, in August 2022.
Jacoline Schoonees/Dirco
Tensions between the US and South Africa – this time over the terror alert – are nothing new. Their relations have always had highs and lows since South Africa became a democracy in 1994.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during the 2022 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations on Aug. 1, 2022.
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Jeffrey Fields, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Joe Biden is set to make his first visit as president to the Middle East, during which he will meet the Saudi crown prince the US accuses of ordering the murder of a journalist.
Supporters of Ukraine, like these demonstrators in Boston on Feb. 27, 2022, are likely to be disappointed by any peace deal.
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Jeffrey Fields, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The US frequently chooses to put its own interest ahead of its professed values. That approach to foreign policy is called ‘realpolitik’ and it may lead to an unsatisfying peace deal in Ukraine.
Le président français, Emmanuel Macron, à droite, et le président du Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, à l’Élysée, à Paris, en novembre.
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L'approche de Macron à l'égard de la politique africaine s'inspire des stratégies des années 50 en raison notamment des similutudes avec la période qui a suivi la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kabore at the Elysee Palace, in Paris in November.
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Macron’s approach to Africa policy emulates the 1950’s strategies. Why? A big part of the answer can be found in the fact that today’s global circumstances are similar to those of post-World War II.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, is visible as President Joe Biden holds a virtual meeting with the Mexican president at the White House in March 2021.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
What do Biden’s first 100 days in office mean for the next four years in terms of foreign policy? There are already some clues — but questions too.
A demonstrator dressed as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with blood on his hands protests outside the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2018.
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Jeffrey Fields, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Saudi’s crown prince approved the killing and dismemberment of a Washington Post columnist in 2018, the Biden administration says. So how can the US still see the Saudis as good partners?
Chinese soldiers and police serve in eight UN peace missions in Africa.
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Jeffrey Fields, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Critics say Trump’s defense of Saudi Arabia in the Khashoggi affair betrays American values. But many presidents have cozied up to dictators, ignoring human rights abuses to serve US interests.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s clampdown on dissent in Matabeleland claimed up to 20 000 lives.
EPA/Aaron Ufumeli/ Pool
The effects of President Mugabe’s post-independence security clampdown that led to the murder of between 10 000 and 20 000 Zimbabweans, known as the Matabeleland massacre, continue to be felt.
South African students have been at the forefront of activism especially over the past two years.
Mike Hutchings/Reuters
Young black South Africans have been raised to believe that friendship across the races is an indicator of progress. Now, a generation into democracy, they are questioning this.
Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa and Assistant Professor in the History of International Relations, Utrecht University