Intervir ou não intervir: a “Diplomacia Silenciosa” e a política externa Sul-Africana em relação ao Zimbábue

Abstract

This article aims to understand the foreign policy mechanisms adopted by South Africa during the Zimbábue crisis. To this end, there will be considered the South African relations with the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), specifically their interactions with Zimbábue, adopting the theoretical perspective of hegemonic stability. In this context, the effectiveness of the "quiet diplomacy" used by the South African government as a foreign policy mechanism vis-à-vis Zimbábue, characterized by the choice not to criticize the Zimbabwean president in public, preferring to do so in direct contacts, will be analyzed.