Friday, June 11, 2010

Junior Partner South Africa (I)

Newsletter 2010/06/08 - Junior Partner South Africa (I)

PRETORIA/BERLIN (Own report) - In view of the German South African cooperation in the preparation of the upcoming World Cup, German government advisors are contemplating South Africa's importance for
German foreign policy. According to a recently published study by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), South Africa has "without any doubt the potential" to impose its hegemony on
sub-Saharan Africa and Germany has considerable influence on that country. Both factors enable Germany to use Pretoria as a stabilizing force, influencing African developments to the advantage of German
interests. But this should be undertaken carefully, because the opinion that "South Africa is representing Western interests" is already widespread in Africa. SWP recommends countering South Africa's strivings for cooperation with other countries of the southern hemisphere, at the expense of its cooperation with the EU and USA, by further developing the already close military cooperation and the security measures implemented jointly on the African continent.

more
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/56350