“The purpose of this study is to try and assess the foreign policy implications of Total National Strategy. Local discussion of TNS has largely focused on its domestic ramifications, thus tending to overlook its relevance for South Africa’s foreign relations. Although TNS contains specific foreign policy objectives, the strategy’s implications for the Republic’s foreign relations cannot realistically be determined by considering only these aspects. The internal components of TNS are also of fundamental importance because, to restate a truism, South Africa’s foreign relations are crucially affected by its domestic policies. Put in simple terms, the central question which the present study seeks to answer, is: how will TNS affect South Africa’s present international standing? To understand TNS, it is necessary to consider first the South African Government’s perception of a “total onslaught” on the country; TNS is in fact officially presented as the Republic’s counter-strategy. The notion of an onslaught has additional relevance because it also provides a picture of South Africa’s perception of its external environment.
Following this, the discussion will focus on TNS, particularly on the ‘policy’ component thereof, as embodied in the Government’s “12-point plan”. It is this plan which contains the foreign and domestic
policy objectives referred to above.”
