In the Crossfire

As the countdown to the 2023 BRICS Summit begins, the dynamics of South Africa's foreign policy come sharply into focus.
As a regional powerhouse on the African continent and a diplomatic bridge, South Africa finds itself in an intricate geopolitical jigsaw. Balancing its roles as an influential regional leader while also trying to navigate the strategic power play between the world's superpowers. As the world watches the BRICS Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa's dance of diplomacy reveals a tale of two cities.

What is South Africa’s goal in BRICS? What role does the ANC’s ideology play in its foreign relations? What are South Africa’s goals as a regional power? How are its relations with the USA, China, Russia and the EU?
We will discuss these and many other questions with the Shadow Minister for International Relations and Cooperation of the biggest opposition party in the South African parliament, Emma Powell, the political and country risk analyst, Menzi Ndlovu, and the Head of Research & Advocacy at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) in South Africa, Kwezi Sogoni.

Moderation
Kwezi Sogoni
is the Head of Research & Advocacy at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) in South Africa. Prior to joining FNF, he was a researcher at the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) and worked for the mayor of Johannesburg.

Gast
Emma Powell
is a South African politician and a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa’s Official Opposition. She is currently the Shadow Minister for International Relations for the Official Opposition in Parliament.

Gast
Menzi Ndlovu
is a senior political and country risk analyst at Signal Risk. He specialises on African politics, geopolitics, political economy and finance, and is a regular contributor and panellist on organisations such as the Institute for security studies, CNBC, Financial Mail, Deutsche Welle and Al Jazeera.