The evolution of EU–South Africa relations: What influence on Africa?

Abstract

South Africa and the European Union (EU) have a longstanding relationship. Their interaction has evolved through various phases, characterised simultaneously by ambitious partnerships coupled with a degree of wariness. As international dynamics change and Africa becomes an increasingly crucial player in global politics, the relationship between the EU and South Africa exerts a host of influences on how Africa and Europe relate to each other. This article discusses the evolution of EU–South Africa relations and highlights direct and indirect influences that this relationship has on the inter-regional partnership between Africa and Europe.

Keywords:

• European Union
• South Africa
• Africa
• African Union
• inter-regionalism

Notes on contributors

Lorenzo Fioramonti is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), where he directs the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation. He is also Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social Investment of the University of Heidelberg and at the Hertie School of Governance (Germany) and Associate Fellow at the United Nations University. Fioramonti is also the first and only Jean Monnet Chair in Africa and also holds the UNESCO-UNU Chair in Regional Integration, Migration and Free Movement of People. His most recent books are How Numbers Rule the World: The Use and Abuse of Statistics in Global Politics (Zed Books 2014) and Gross Domestic Problem: The Politics Behind the World's Most Powerful Number (Zed Books 2013).

John Kotsopoulos is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, University of Pretoria. He holds a PhD in International Relations (University of Kent, UK) with a focus on asymmetrical negotiations between the European Union and Africa. He was formerly a policy analyst with the European Policy Centre in Brussels and earlier served as a political desk officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa, Canada.

Notes

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