Twenty Years After: Post-Apartheid South Africa, the BRICS and Southern Africa

The chapter discusses how during the last two decades political cooperation between the Southern African countries has been critically hampered by the international difficulties of SADC members states. In particular, widespread poverty and deepening inequalities pose a serious threat to the political legitimacy of ruling parties. It is within this context that SADC member states have hesitated to engage in collective efforts aimed at fostering democracy and respect for human rights, with the partical exception of election monitoring.