Cultural diplomacy in post-apartheid South Africa's international relations: cosmetic or genuine change?

Abstract

In this article, we examine the extent to which South Africa responds to recent major paradigm shifts in international relations. We record that the country's readmission to the international cultural relations arena after the collapse of apartheid in 1994 has brought about new challenges for it to tackle. Two of these are: how to project a new image of a united society with diverse cultures in harmonious co-existence different from that of the past; and how to shift from a previous government-centric diplomacy to a new public-participatory alternative. We support the prompt drafting of a cultural diplomacy policy initiated by law makers in order to mediate the afore-mentioned opposites. The study followed qualitative methodological approaches to arrive at the arguments and conclusions made.