This webinar analysed the country’s stance and the extensive criticism it received on its decision not to vote on three United Nations General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia's intervention within Ukraine - with both the United States of America and the Russian Federation equally vying for support from South Africa.
Dr Barend Prinsloo, programme leader for International and National Security in the School of Government Studies, emphasised that although much of the discussions emanate from the Russian intervention in Ukraine in February 2022, the war in Ukraine was not the primary focus of the webinar.
“Instead, we were looking at how South Africa's stance affects its global political standing and economy, or more simply, how it affects ordinary South Africans,” says Dr Prinsloo.
The panel comprised renowned experts on the topic of politics and international relations. They included Prof Hussein Solomon, head of the Department of Political Science and senior professor at the University of the Free State; Peter Fabricius, one of the country’s foremost foreign affairs journalists and analysts on foreign policy issues; and Prof Andre Thomashausen, professor of international and comparative law and an expert on foreign and private international law.
Prof Kedibone Phago, director of the School of Government Studies opened the webinar, after which academic discussions took place to allow for divergent viewpoints on politically sensitive issues – not necessarily reflecting the views of the NWU.
The first speaker, Prof Hussein Solomon, discussed “A new Cold War: a new non-aligned movement?”, and the second speaker, Peter Fabricius, reflected on his recent blog he wrote for ACCORD - “Between the US and Russia: SA walks a fine line”.
Finally, Prof Andre Thomashausen discussed the topic “US-Africa Relations: a romance forever lost in translation”.
View the full webinar here to get detailed insights into each speaker’s views.
More about the speakers
Prof Hussein Solomon is the head of the Department Political Science and is a senior professor at the University of the Free State. He is also an extraordinary professor at the NWU and Stellenbosch University. Prof Solomon is an international expert on conflict resolution and fundamentalism.
Peter Fabricius is one of the foremost foreign affairs journalists and analysts on foreign policy issues in South Africa, and his work is widely published. He was the foreign editor for Independent Media for almost 20 years.
Prof Andre Thomashausen has more than 40 years’ experience as a professor of international and comparative la, and international business law counsel. He is an admitted attorney to the Rechtsanwaltskammer (Law Society) Frankfurt, Germany, and a member of the prestigious Academia Europaea.
