Dependence and development in Southern Africa : the case for Swaziland

Abstract

The Southern African region has attracted considerable interest from scholars and spectators in recent decades. Events in Southern Africa have always been highly influenced by both regional and global trends and shifts. Therefore, as the 1990's begin, analysis calls for a redefinition of the position in the changing regional and global environments, for small dependent states such as Swaziland, whose development and foreign policy operate within such constrained environments. The regional political economy has, up until now, largely been seen in terms of South Africa's hegemony or dominance. However, as the 1990's begin, South Africa, the hegemonic power in the region, is in crisis. The rest of the region is going through some form or other of structural adjustment under the IMF/IBRD.

At the global level, the New International Division of Labour is evolving, making some states in the region seem even smaller in terms of production, industry, technology etc. For Swaziland, such difficulties in the global political economy have tended to reinforce rather than erode regional dependence on South Africa. These will have implications for the choices available to Swaziland's political economy in the 1990's and beyond.