아프리카ㆍ중동

Following its first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa officially rejoined the international community of nations and immediately encountered expectations that it would provide leadership on the African continent. In terms of economic dimension, in particular, South Africa has asserted its presence on the continent through foreign investments and trade in Africa. In doing so, South Africa has become an important player in driving the flow of capital, goods and people on the continent. However, it is important to raise such a question that whether and how South Africa as the strongest economy in Africa has played its economic role on the continent. In this context, the paper attempts to reflect on South Africa’s economic role in Africa since the end of Apartheid era until the middle of 2000s with focusing on the challenges and opportunities that the role has created. Experiencing the transition from pariah to legitimate player, thus, the international prestige attached to South Africa’s democratic transition has conferred a new leadership role on the region’s prospects and projects. In this sense, the paper argues that South African businesses have emerged as the leading investors on the continent let alone the mining and energy sectors. In addition, South African businesses have been involved in various economic sectors including retail, construction, manufacturing, transport and telecommunications. However, the prominence of South Africa as a new economic player in Africa has proposed complexities and challenges associated with post‐Apartheid South Africa’s role on the continent. Although South Africa has been an active foreign investor in many African countries in the post‐Apartheid period, yet, South Africa’s active economic involvement in the continent needs to be critically reconsidered within the context of the nature,character and type of South Africa’s economic relations with the other African countries. Thus, the paper tries not only to illuminate the character of South Africa’s trade relations with the rest of Africa but also to deal with the nuanced understanding of South Africa’s investment in Africa.