Ubuntu:

South Africa's international identity construction through African thinking

Abstract

South Africa's international identity following the advent of multiracial democracy in 1994 has been an object of analysis for different theoretical tendencies. However, intellectual efforts on this matter have remained predominantly limited to Western, hegemonic perspectives in the International Relations (IR) discipline. In this paper we will establish a dialogue between constructivist points of view, applied to South Africa's identity and international relations transformation, and contributions taken from African thinking, especially the concept of ubuntu and its influence in South African rhetoric and international behaviour. We reckon that in ignoring non-western points of view, mainly when analyzing emerging powers of Global South, there is a risk of falling into reductionism and losing an opportunity of enhancing analyses. Furthermore, including notions culturally different from those of Western thinking helps in building a global perspective for IR, and contributes to the pursuit of innovative and plural conceptual tools for the discipline.