South Africa's and Nigeria's Activities at the UN: Quest for Leadership in Africa

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Abstract

The article offers a comparative analysis of South Africa's and Nigeria's foreign policy behaviour at the United Nations, viewed through the lens of their regional leadership ambitions. The author proposes a three-pronged approach to the analysis, combining quantitative assessment of voting practices in the General Assembly, content analysis of addresses to the UNGA and an exploration of country-specific priorities, strategies and partnerships within the Security Council. The study suggests that South Africa acts more assertively across UN structures, advancing both the pan-African agenda and its own diplomatic initiatives. Pretoria effectively balances regional interests with those of key external partners, thereby reinforcing its image as a continental leader. Nigeria, by contrast, tends to focus on issues linked to domestic challenges or its immediate subregional context. This inward orientation limits Abuja's potential to articulate broader African interests on the global stage. The divergence in approaches highlights South Africa's comparative advantage in using multilateral diplomacy to strengthen its leadership position within Africa and expand its international influence through the UN system.

About the authors

N. A Panin

Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: contact@panin-nikita.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0000-1802-9694
Post-graduate student, Junior Researcher, Centre for Russian-African Relations and African Foreign Policies Moscow, Russia

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