This is the first in a two-part series on the U.S.-South Africa bilateral relationship. Part I examines the state of economic ties. Part II will examine the state of political ties.
Although it was inevitably overshadowed by the serious decline in Nelson Mandela’s health, U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to South Africa at the end of June provided the opportunity for a comprehensive re-evaluation of the bilateral relationship. Though both sides talked about expanding cooperation and strengthening ties, the backdrop to the visit was a checkered and uneven relationship since the birth of the new South Africa in 1994.
By the time Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma both took office in 2009, the U.S.-South Africa relationship was already rather troubled, having failed to live up to the expectations of either party. Under the presidencies of both Mandela (1994-1999) and Thabo Mbeki (1999-2008) there was strong American enthusiasm for South Africa’s democratic breakthrough, but a number of policy differences surfaced between Pretoria and Washington to create tensions in the relationship.