It’s been 25 years since South Africa re-joined the international community. In that period, the country has been prominent in helping craft global norms, creating effective institutions in Africa and raising the continent’s profile internationally.

Its peaceful political transformation and its willingness to share lessons and help to end conflicts in Africa and elsewhere imbued it with tremendous soft power. Over a quarter century, South Africa has left a significant mark on the global stage. We asked some of our partners at think tanks around the world how they viewed South Africa’s contribution to African and global affairs since 1994.

Ola Bello, Good Governance Africa, Nigeria

South Africa’s external projections and impacts in Africa are layered and multi-faceted. Fittingly, the country hosted Africa’s first soccer World Cup in 2010 just as the faddish proclamation of a rising continent approached its crescendo. This, like other South African ‘firsts’ continue to add undoubted lustre to the Africa transformation story. In relation to the twin, most compelling stories of South African FDI and its march through Africa on the one hand, and the global admiration for South Africa’s peaceful transition on the other, the rest of Africa too has played its part in facilitating these success stories.

Concrete, life-impacting examples of the symbiosis range from the African mobile telecommunications revolution through to the banking, retail and other sectors transformations which all invoke SA Inc.’s success. Other African states have also worked productively with Pretoria on joint political undertakings that transformed the parameters of continental leadership, from the birth of the AU, through NEPAD, to the numerous other examples of rising African agency.

Nevertheless, the undoubted symbioses of the last 25 years – always in danger of parochial appropriation or one-sided rendition by South African and non-South African commentators alike – increasingly face an existential challenge. How we manage the ongoing internal introspection and the still incomplete search for African conflict resolution, governance fragility and the attendant demographic/migratory volatility which drive negative feedback and externalities throughout the continent, away from the false pretenses of insularity, will define the story of South Africa for the next 25 years. This carries weighty implications for all other Africans too.

If the pragmatist Mandela formula of mutual self-recognition and inclusive joint undertakings succeeds, South Africa may yet rekindle the spirit of 1994, that most epochal shift of both national and continental significance.

Ruchita Beri, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, India

In the last 25 years, South Africa has managed to carve out a place for itself in global affairs. The country has assiduously established itself as the leading African voice in the Global South. This is quite visible through its proactive involvement in the multilateral fora like the United Nations, G20, BRICS, IBSA and the WTO. It has managed to forge close partnerships with the emerging powers, including India.

Promoting global peace and security has been one of the tenets of South Africa’s foreign policy. Over the years, South Africa worked proactively towards finding African solutions for African problems. It is unfortunate that the region continues to be affected by a large number of armed conflicts, compared to other parts of the world. Here, South Africa has contributed towards building the security architecture on the continent and has keenly taken on the role of a mediator. With new nodes of power emerging on the continent, it remains to be seen whether South Africa will continue to hold sway in providing direction on issues related to peace, security and development.

Sachin Chaturvedi, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, India

Coming out of the struggle against apartheid, marginalisation and racial discontentment, South Africa has occupied an important position among the emerging economies at the global level. The impact and contributions in global negotiations, amplifying Southern concerns at the WTO, World Intellectual Property Organisation and other fora, South Africa provided the necessary heft for negotiating positions with deeper perspective. At various fora, whether IBSA, BRICS, IORA or G20, South Africa has placed on the table a position that not only brings in a national perspective, but also provides a voice for the African continent.

As the world faces major challenges for global governance, South Africa has a major lesson to share, which emanates out of the enriched legacy of Mandela and Gandhi, whose 100th and 150th anniversaries, respectively, were celebrated recently. This legacy could pave the way for an inclusive global order where the world moves forward towards achieving Agenda 2030 where no one should be left behind – and at the regional level, where Africa intends to move forward with Agenda 2063. The cooperation, partnership and shared vision could help address these larger global and regional opportunities.

Research by Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, SAIIA