AHSI Partners

 

South African Institute of International Affairs

 

Established in 1934, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) is a non-government, foreign policy think-tank based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is independently funded through corporate, diplomatic and individual membership subscriptions.

Since the advent of non-racial democracy in South Africa in 1994, SAIIA has supported democratic South Africa in dealing with its rapidly expanding international engagements by promoting public debate and independent policy analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.

The research programme of SAIIA is project-based and funding is provided by both local and international donors, ranging from international agencies to large South African companies. In addition, day-to day expenses of the Institute are covered by income from a trust fund set up at the launch of SAIIA. SAIIA’s annual accounts are independently audited.

The National Chairman is Mr Fred Phaswana (the President of BP Africa and Chairman of BP Southern Africa), and the National Director Dr Greg Mills. The Council is made up of a diverse grouping of South Africans in business, government, academia and the media. The Honorary Patron of the SAIIA is, ex officio, the Foreign Minister of South Africa, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

SAIIA focuses its research activities in four inter-related areas:

• Governance and Development
• Globalisation
• New Paradigms of Security
• Aspects and Challenges of Modern Diplomacy

In this regard, SAIIA is running a number of long-term projects, including:

• A three-year project on NEPAD and governance, working closely with media and other interest groups as a means of monitoring and maintaining standards of good governance.
• A three-year project charting the experience of South African business in Africa, with an objective to extract policy lessons for creating the optimum business-friendly environment.
• A two-year project on collapsing ‘big’ African states conducted in collaboration with the German Stiftung-Wissenschaft-und-Politik and Princeton University.
• A two-year project exploring the link between war and organised crime, with the Institute for Security Studies.
• Two two-year projects, charting the programmes of SADC and its Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
• A two-year project on consolidating SADC parliamentary democracy, as well as ongoing work and engagement with the SA parliament to assist in ensuring that parliamentarians are in a position to access independent and well analysed information and data on issues of national concern, thereby improving the overall quality of the decision making process and legislation.

These projects run alongside SAIIA’s area programmes on Latin America and the Asia-Pacific.

Many of SAIIA’s more important activities are also ‘behind-the-scenes’, in working with the South African and other governments in trying to resolve problems, provide analysis and explain South Africa to the world and vice versa.