ZAMBIA'S RELATIONS WITH MALAWI, BOTSWANA, MOZAMBIQUE, ZIMBABWE, AND SOUTH AFRICA: AN ANALYSIS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

This is a study of Zambia's relations with Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Zambia's inter-state relations, as well as her foreign policy in the region, are assessed and identified in an attempt to establish the determinants of her foreign policy. The thesis of the study is that the existence of white minority governments in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe was a major influence on Zambia's inter-state relations from 1964 to 1980. The second thesis of the study is that while liberation movements used armed struggle, independent nations preferred to use diplomacy to put pressure on white minority governments to accept the principle of majority rule. The writer observes that Zambia played a crucial role in the political drama that led to the independence of many Southern African countries. Zambia, which authorized Southern African liberation movements to establish their headquarters in Lusaka, was at the center of diplomatic activities aimed at creating an atmosphere where negotiations for settlements could take place. Zambia did it by keeping channels of communication open and by reassuring minority leaders that whites were welcome to remain in Southern Africa under majority rule. The purpose of the study was to identify the major determinants of Zambia's foreign policy positions and its regional inter-state relations. Identification of foreign policy determinants and analysis of inter-state relations was conducted using some of the relevant methods of international relations. The methods utilized are comparative analysis, inter-nation influence approach, associational relations, and historical analysis. The land locked position of Zambia and her reliance on the railways system, then controlled by the three minority governments of Rhodesia, Mozambique, and South Africa, seriously limited Zambia's foreign policy options. However, there was a degree of economic interdependence which restrained both sides from taking extreme action. It was concluded that armed struggle and diplomacy are the two instruments used to put pressure on the white minority governments to accept the principle of African majority rule.