Transições Democráticas

Transition in South Africa: the global context and the international role, por John Barratt

It is widely accepted that the new international conditions resulted in a corresponding change in policies within the region of Southern Africa, both politically – as it has led to a greater level of autonomy and for local and regional imperatives to determine the policies of governments and other parties – and economically – as growing international concern with economic imperatives and the changes in the global economy have affected the major political groupings in South Africa and influenced the moves towards greater regional cooperation. Having established this background, the present paper focuses in official South African attitudes towards external involvement in the domestic transitions processes and underlines the crucial role of external diplomatic involvement as well as the importance of the growing international emphasis on negotiations for the resolution of the South African conflict – culminating in the two sessions of the multi-party Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA).